Europe

Romania: man asks court to recognize his same-sex marriage

Associated Press
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Adrian Coman, left, speaks outside the Constitutional Court, next to his parents Camelia and Liviu Coman in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. Coman is asking the Constitutional Court to recognize his 2010 marriage in Belgium to a U.S. citizen Claibourn Robert Hamilton, in a case that has pitted a conservative majority against those who seek closer integration into the European mainstream. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

Adrian Coman, right, exits the Constitutional Court along with his lawyer Iustina Ionescu, in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. Coman is asking the Constitutional Court to recognize his 2010 marriage in Belgium to a U.S. citizen Claibourn Robert Hamilton, in a case that has pitted a conservative majority against those who seek closer integration into the European mainstream. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

Adrian Coman, right, walks after a hearing at the Constitutional Court along with his lawyer Iustina Ionescu, in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. Coman is asking the Constitutional Court to recognize his 2010 marriage in Belgium to a U.S. citizen Claibourn Robert Hamilton, in a case that has pitted a conservative majority against those who seek closer integration into the European mainstream. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

A Romanian man has asked his country's Constitutional Court to recognize his marriage to a U.S. man, in a case that has pitted the conservative majority against those who seek closer integration into the European mainstream.

Lawyer Iustina Ionescu asked judges on Thursday to rule that the couple's 2010 marriage in Belgium was legal in the same way it would be recognized if they were heterosexual.

Adrian Coman, a rights activist, is married to American graphic designer Claibourn Robert Hamilton. Coman said: "Our values are no different from any other family in Romania."

The couple who live in the U.S. began legal action in 2012 to get their union recognized.

Religious groups want the constitution amended to state that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.