Romania will hold a referendum on changes to the constitution that could effectively permanently ban gay marriage.

The country's top court approved a public vote on an amendment that would explicitly state that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

Campaigners warned the move, which would remove the reference to "spouses" and replace it with a specific reference to one man and one woman, was discriminatory and "out of step with reality".

It followed a petition signed by three million Romanians in support of a change in the constitution.

Last week the senate approved the referendum by 107 votes. The Constitutional Court's 7-2 decision was the final hurdle and the vote will go ahead on 7 October.

Romania does not currently recognise same-sex marriage or offer legal protection to same-sex couples.

But campaigners warned that a change in the constitution would cement the inequality and permanently end hopes of a future change in the law.

Katrin Hugendubel, European advocacy director at the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), said: "This referendum is essentially asking people to approve discriminating against their neighbours, colleagues, friends and family members.

"Rainbow families, diverse family groups, loving families living in Romania right now are all threatened by this proposal."

LGBT in Istanbul Show all 8 1 /8 LGBT in Istanbul LGBT in Istanbul Hakan, 20, is a student of medicine at the university, and after discovering cross-dressing he's currently in a transition process to define his sexual identity, seeing himself either as a gay man or gender queer. His special place is Macka Park, in the central part of Istanbul (Turkey), where he used to have encounters during the night, after the parties around the area of Istiklal Road and Taksim Square. The park is still one of the few locations in the city where straight and homosexual couples meet up during the night for some outdoor sex, in this side of the city. LGBT in Istanbul Celik, 41, is an activist, member of Beyoglu City Council and a Sisli municipality worker at the department of social equality. He chose to be portrayed in Gezi Park, in the heart of Istanbul, where heavy protests happened in the spring of 2013. It was at that time, when he was still a manager for an international company in the retail sector, that he realised it was time for a change: he decided to leave his job and get involved in politics and human rights. Nowadays, Celik is working with lgbti+ refugees, and on lgbti+ rights, in collaboration with the Republican People's Party, the main opposition party in Turkey. LGBT in Istanbul Remi (fake name), 22, was recently exempted from the army conscription service because he is gay and HIV positive, and got the so-called "Pink Paper" (a document certifying the discharge for reasons concerning homosexuality). He decided to hide his face for security reasons. Remi choose Mis Sokak (Mis Street) as his special place: 'It's a famous road full of bars, near Taksim square, and most of them are or were gay friendly.' LGBT in Istanbul Seyhan, 37, theatre actress and performance artist. As a transgender woman both her private and professional life have been complicated by a widespread trans-phobia. Being an artist, though, helped her in many different ways, and years of hard work on stage taught her confidence in herself. Instead of having her picture taken in a place related to a memory, she chose to portrayed in a random street of Istanbul, because to her any public space is important: being visible, being able to walk every single street of the city in total freedom, without any trouble, is the key to every other right. LGBT in Istanbul Avdil, 20, originally from Diyarbakır is a student of Arabic language and culture, activist at HEVI LGBT, an NGO based in Istanbul that supports especially Kurdish LGBT individuals. His special place in the city is the garden of this cafe near Taksim Square, where he met his first love a year ago. When his family discovered he was gay there were big fights between them, but things gradually improved and when Avdil love story finished, after a few months, he could even speak with his mother about his feelings and the problems he had with his former boyfriend. Avdil and his first love remained good friends, though, and are still in touch with each other. LGBT in Istanbul Emre, 35, is an interior designer. He decided to have his portrait taken in Gezi Park, looking on the buildings on Taksim Square because of its symbolic importance. For him and many others, Gezi Protests were a key moment in the history of the LGBTQ movement in the city of Istanbul, when the different souls of the liberal society and the LGBTQ community came together and found in each other the energy to organize, protest and advocate for their rights. LGBT in Istanbul Gokhan, 34, is a video editor for a media company in Istanbul. His special place here is a strip of rocks near the harbor of Kadikoy, on the Asian side of the city, that terminates with a small unmanned radar tower. A few years ago Gokhan was chatting with a possible date on an app, and they decided to meet, all of a sudden and in the in the middle of the night, here. It eventually didn't work between them, in the long run, but the view from this place and the memories of that night stuck with him through the years. Gokhan still goes there, from time to time, sitting on the rocks and thinking about that night, while watching the sun setting behind the golden horn. LGBT in Istanbul Cagla, 27, is the daughter of Zuleyha, a LGBT rights activist. Her special place in Istanbul is this sea walk in the area of Bakirkoy, near where she lives. She decided to have her portrait taken ere, together with her mother, because time ago they had an important discussion in this place: Zuleyha had to get some help because of a momentary nervous breakdown, as At that time she couldn't accept Cagla being a transgender woman. After an afternoon at the hospital, on their way home they stopped in this area, and Zuleyha told Cagla that even if it was going to be difficult, even it it was going to take time, she was not going to give up, because they were family. now Zuleyha is part of LISTAG, a peer support group that helps parents to understand their LGBT kids.

Romania is 35th in the Rainbow Europe ranking on law and policy. While LGBT+ people in the country enjoy equal rights in some areas, including military service, housing and age of sexual consent, they are banned from giving blood or adopting as a couple.

The socially-conservative country has few LGBT-friendly politicians and the Orthodox Church enjoys widespread influence.

But in July, LGBT+ couples won a rare victory after Romania’s constitutional court ruled that residency rights must be given to the same-sex spouses of European Union citizens.

Several LGBT+ campaign groups lobbied the constitutional court before its latest verdict on the gay marriage vote, with Amnesty International warning the change “could result in making it impossible to protect same-sex unions in the future”.

Barbora Černušáková, Amnesty International’s researcher on Romania, said it would be a “backward step”.

The definition of ‘family’ put forward by the supporters of this referendum is frankly inaccurate; it only captures a very limited fraction of what family means to people in 2018 <p>Arpi Avetisyan, campaigner </p>

Arpi Avetisyan, ILGA Europe's litigation officer, added: “Romania has a responsibility to protect all its citizens – straight and LGBTI.

"The definition of ‘family’ put forward by the supporters of this referendum is frankly inaccurate; it only captures a very limited fraction of what family means to people in 2018.

"And it is also very out-of-step with reality and with the diversity of families being recognised by international human rights bodies and European courts."

A member of Romania's gay community takes part in the 2014 pride parade in Bucharest (Reuters)

Supporters of a constitutional amendment have claimed it would protect Romania’s “traditional family”.