Even though there have been several advances in Romanian concerning the rights of gay citizens, the country as a whole nonetheless remains fairly conservative and therefore, unreceptive towards homosexuals. Since the start of the new millennia, Romania has removed anti-gay authorized guidelines, making homosexuality authorized for the initial time in all venues. They have also passed legal guidelines in order to prevent discrimination towards gay individuals and illegalize the occurrence of anti-gay hate crimes.

In 1864, homosexuality became illegal under the Romanian Penal Code. Although the law was not enforced for the entire period, the criminalization of gay people remained in place until 1936, when homosexuality was legalized except in the instances of rape. Article 431, which was enacted soon after, only made homosexuality illegal when the lifestyle created public disturbances or scandal. In 1996, it became legal for same sex individuals to engage in homosexual activity in the privacy of their own homes although public demonstrations were still considered criminal behavior. It also became permissible for individuals to undergo sex change surgery and change their sex on legal documents. It was not until 2000 that public homosexuality was made legal. Soon after, Michael Guest became the new Ambassador from the United States to Romania, a man who was completely open about his homosexuality.

Today, in Romania, there are no laws against homosexuality. Instead, laws have been enacted to protect the gay population. However, gay people are still not permitted to be joined in marriage although Romania is required by the European Union to recognize homosexual relationships and unions that have taken place in other countries. In 2005, it was declared unconstitutional for any individual to be denied access to in vitro fertilization or IVF. This included all women, including lesbians. In one aspect, the military, Romania is even further accepting of homosexuality than the U.S. Gay individuals are able to openly serve in the military although many still strive to hide their sexual orientation for fear of being discriminated against.

In 2006, it was made illegal to discriminate against homosexuals in terms of employment, education, housing situations, and health care to name a few. In 2006, it was also made unlawful for people to have marches and give speeches denouncing homosexuals. This, nevertheless, is a law which has not been well enforced and several such events have proceeded with out repercussions. Similar to the United States, Romania does not permit homosexual males to donate blood because of the believed increased risk that the individual has been infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

In order to make the gay community more visible, Bucharest celebrates the annual GayFest along with a Gay Film Nights festival which takes place in Cluj-Napoca. Despite this, the majority of rural Romania still remains anti-homosexual. Both GayFest and the Gay Film Nights festival are largely controversial and several social and political groups have spoken against their practice. For example, the March for Normality, an anti-homosexual parade, has been introduced on the same day as the Gay Fest parade by Noua Dreaptă, a very conservative social group.

For articles about Romanian gay community, homosexuality and bisexuality, you can visit Ferguson’s gay romania blog, with English version @ http://en.darkq.net

The practice of giving and wearing a wedding ring dates back thousands of years. A wedding ring represents fidelity and love between two people and are given on the day of a couple joining forces. Before the time that the skill of how to work metal became widely known, people used such things as plants, grass and even hair to ‘tie the knot’, which is what I think a wedding ring stands for.

These days a normal wedding ring might be made from valuable metals such as gold, titanium, platinum or even white gold. Women’s wedding rings often hold a diamond, although sapphires are rapidly becoming more prevalent. Men’s wedding rings are frequently just a simple band of gold. There are many different styles of wedding rings, but the most popular for men is unquestionably the plain gold band.

For those who want something a bit more flamboyant, there are plenty of examples on the market. A man might want a more grandiose wedding ring, because it is frequently the only piece of jewellery that a man wears. Some alternatives to the plain band of gold are the Celtic Knot and the Claddagh gold rings.

It is essential for men’s wedding rings to be made from a robust alloy of gold. Most men do physical labour of one sort or another, even if it is only gardening, so it is a lot to ask of a pure gold wedding ring to last thirty or forty years.

A 14 or 18 carat gold ring will probably manage it, but a 22 carat ring would not. It would just wear away because it is too pure and consequently too soft. Platinum or titanium are much harder, although most people have a preference for gold.

In most countries tradition dictates that people wear their wedding ring on their left hand, although in a couple of countries such as Germany, Russia and Norway, people wear their wedding ring on the right hand.

Some couples would rather have a unique wedding ring and that is not so difficult to achieve as it might first seem. The easiest way to personalize your ring is to have an inscription like names and a date engraved on it.

Another way, would be to buy a precious stone separately and have the jeweller set it into the ring for you. The best option though is to find a jeweller you can trust and have him or her make up a pair of identical rings to your own design. I have done that and it is not a lot more expensive than a good ring.

Wearing matching wedding rings is a remarkable experience. People see that your ring is ‘something different’ and many people ask, where you got them from. It all goes to help make that special day memorable for ever.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring