Ignacio Arsuaga has helped turn online petitions into a global weapon for real marriage and the natural family. In our latest C4M interview, he tells me how CitizenGO now connects around 19 million contacts in some 50 countries and 12 languages to defend family values, and push back against laws that undermine it. If you have ever wondered whether clicking on a petition can still make a difference, I would urge you to watch our full conversation here.
After training as a lawyer in Madrid and New York, Ignacio launched HazteOir, a Spanish petition site, in the early 2000s. His first campaign asked the centre‑right prime minister to “approve a law to protect and promote families”. When the socialist government later pushed through same‑sex marriage in 2005, the movement helped organise huge pro‑family marches on the streets of Madrid. Out of that experience came CitizenGO in 2013, designed from the outset as a platform to defend life, family and freedom across borders.
Ignacio is frank about the scale of the fight. CitizenGO, therefore, “actually confront politicians” when they betray their own manifesto promises, or forget about family values, when in power. The more visible CitizenGO becomes, he tells me, the more it attracts attacks from hostile media and activists, but that only underlines that something effective is happening.
CitizenGO now describes itself as “formed by 19,426,064 active citizens” and runs campaigns in dozens of countries. Here in the UK, its petitions have helped galvanise opposition to drag‑queen story hours in public libraries and the sexualisation of children. Another CitizenGO petition gathered almost 20,000 signatures against drag queens appearing in UK primary schools, sending a clear signal to headteachers and councils that parents do not consent to exposing their children to this agenda.
Some ask whether online petitions still matter in a world flooded with digital campaigns. Ignacio is realistic about this and explains that the model has had to evolve. Today, CitizenGO still uses petitions as the entry point, but follows up by delivering signatures in person, organising rallies and running what he calls “outside operations” with political “champions”. The aim is always the same: to mobilise large numbers of ordinary people and turn that pressure into concrete wins for life, family and freedom.
For defenders of real marriage this is serious fire‑power. When governments redefine marriage, push gender ideology into schools or downgrade the rights of parents, CitizenGO can put millions of people’s voices into the inboxes of ministers, MPs and MEPs within hours. That makes it harder for officials to pretend that only a tiny, backward minority still believes that children do best with their married mum and dad. It also offers a way for ordinary couples, parents and grandparents to resist cultural decay rather than suffer it in silence.
At C4M, the conviction remains clear. Marriage between one man and one woman is the gold standard for family life, for children and for a free, stable society. We exists to champion and promote that authentic understanding of marriage in the UK, to support those already living it, and to give the next generation confidence that real marriage is still worth entering into, defending and celebrating.
Alongside our policy work, we travel the country coming alongside churches and organisations with marriage-enrichment and other practical courses for men’s and women’s groups. These help couples grow in faithfulness, grace and lifelong commitment.