Marriage unites a man and a woman, Paralympic athlete believes

Among the articles of the draft Constitution which arouse heated debates is the one stating that marriage guarantees preservation of family values. A motivational coach and a father of four children – Aleksei Talai – shares his position on the issue.

“I have been addressed by many people as a member of the Constitutional Commission which is working over the draft Basic Law. They all said that we need to preserve our traditional family values. It is logical that, based on this, the union of a man and a woman is recognised as marriage. However, a clarification is needed, in my opinion: of a man and a woman by birth,” Mr. Talai said.

“We are aware of situations when a person changes a gender and legally becomes a man or a woman, accordingly gaining an opportunity to register marriage – which is actually same-gender marriage. What if this ‘family’ wish to adopt children? This cannot be allowed. This aspect is important for us,” the athlete said, adding, “In this situation, our opponents often overplay – saying that we are allegedly interfering in private life. Meanwhile, during meetings and discussions, I always repeat that we need no insinuation of the kind. It's not about that. You have the right to live as you like, to behave differently in you love life and do anything you wish with your body. We say that we must preserve and protect childhood, common sense and prevent the child's psyche from being damaged. What will happen when a child one day realises that a woman he viewed as his mother is actually a man? Therefore, there should be no such loophole in the definition of legitimate marriage. Children must be brought up by a woman and a man, as God made it.”