Christian Democrats and the family

Left-wing commentators accuse the Christian Democrats of discriminating against domestic partnerships by denying them the same legal status marriages have. A conservative columnist on the other hand contends that traditional families are the cornerstones of healthy nations.

Christian Democrats propose that the new Civil Code now being debated in Parliament should not abolish the legal distinction between a registered domestic partnership and marriage. According to their proposal, common-law marriages should remain private contractual relationships to which family law does not apply. The Socialist Party has accused the Christian Democrats of intending to stigmatize non-married couples who give birth to 42 per cent of children. The Christian Democrats replied that they recognize all communities of parents and their children as families, but believe that those who do not intend to formalize their unions, do not want to take upon themselves the obligations which stem from marriage. If they actually do, nothing prevents them from concluding contracts which define each other’s rights and obligations.

Christian Democrats launched an ideological attack on those who choose to live together in  domestic partnerships rather than a formal marriages, Judit Muhari writes in Népszava. The left-wing columnist suggests that it is not reasonable to legally distinguish registered domestic partnership from marriage, since both institutions can serve as the foundations of firm relationships well-suited for raising children.

In Népszabadság, Ákos Kállai writes that instead of maintaining the status quo, the Christian Democrat proposal, if enacted, Domestic partnership has indeed not been part of the current family law, but the existing regulations stipulate that domestic partners (including same sex couples) have the same inheritance rights as married couples, which the Christian Democrat”s proposal would abolish, Kállai contends.

The family serves as the foundation of the nation, Ferenc Sinkovics writes in Magyar Hírlap. The pro-government commentator believes that by supporting the institution of the traditional family, Christian Democrats are defending the nation against global cultural influences aiming at atomizing societies and making the nation state obsolete. Sinkovics adds that those who fight for the equal legal recognition of domestic partnership also endorse same sex partnership and would open up the possibility for homosexual couples to adopt children. “Two males could for example adopt a fourteen year old boy. Can you imagine what this would mean in moral, biological and physical terms mean for a nation?” Sinkovics asks.

Tags: civil code, family, KDNP, same-sex union