One part of the Georgian population is against the referendum on marriage issues and calls the President to refrain from appointing the event. The petition was published via the internet and at this moment 110 people signed it.
They believe that such referendum restricts the human rights. They ask President not to approve the CEC initiative group's demand for the new definition of civil marriage.
[According to Article 36 of the Georgian Constitution, marriage is defined as being based on the equality of rights and free will of spouses.]
The petition reads that the appointment of a referendum will contradict the Georgian Constitution and will affect badly for a long time period the national interests. This will strengthen the Russian antiwestern propagation. The petition reads that at the background of so many problems in Georgia, the problem of marriage definition less important question is and is exaggerated artificially.
This question already is defined in the Constitution and needs not rearrangement. And the appointment of a referendum alongside with the parliamentary elections would be a reason for much more polarizing of confronting sides and brings a serious risks, - the statement reads.
The new proposal offers to replace the term "spouses" with "a man and woman." However, Georgia's civil code already specifies that marriage is a "voluntary union of a man and woman".
