Iohannis criticises Romania's gay-marriage opponents

In an unusual display of frankness Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said "religious fanaticism" was not the way to approach the issue of gay marriage and called for tolerance of minorities. Three million people have signed a petition calling for a referendum on enshrining the ban of gay marriage in the constitution. Romania's press comments on Ioannis' words with equal frankness.

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Ziare (RO) /

State should not punish feelings

Iohannis is right to criticise the opponents of gay marriage as fanatics, Ziare comments:

“No matter how much anger he has provoked, from the Orthodox Church and elsewhere, the president's position is absolutely right. ... No one can be criticised for their feelings, as bizarre as they might seem to the majority. In a secular and democratic society there is no reason why the majority should be able to force a minority that is not doing any harm to anyone to behave in a certain way when it comes to their private lives, their feelings and their lifestyle. It is hard to understand what gives anyone the right to forbid two people of the same sex to share their lives in marriage and to enjoy a stable legal status.”

Evenimentul Zilei (RO) /

Iohannis wants to suppress the people's will

The president is nothing but a lackey for the Brussels elites who preach political correctness, Evenimentul Zilei fumes:

“When a country wants to regulate the issue of gay marriage and contradicts Juncker, Merkel, Hollande and the like, the alarm bells start ringing and all the stops are pulled out to take control of the situation. The kid gloves are set aside and replaced by cudgels. We saw how Hungary and Poland were attacked because they dared to stray from the path dictated by Brussels. … When Iohannis accused three million Romanians of religious fanaticism, his broad smile turned into a mask that promised reprisals for all those who stepped out of line.”