By Paola Concia, Democratic Party Member of Parliament
The new campaign promoted by Arcigay, joined by many other associations, "Italy United Against Homophobia," with the slogan "Civilization, a Typical Italian Product," finally places two words I love at the center of the fight for civil rights: Civilization and Unity. As rapporteur for the bill against homophobia and transphobia, I work every day to communicate the message that the fight against discrimination is not just a battle for gay, lesbian, and transgender people, but rather one that concerns all respectable citizens. President Napolitano reiterated this last year on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia. And parents of gay children ask for it every day, seeing their children's dignity trampled by a shortsighted and Jurassic-era policy that fails to keep pace with the times.
The campaign will be posted in fifty Italian cities, thanks to the great effort of Arcigay, to raise public awareness, precisely in the days in which the proposed law against homophobia will be voted on for the second time by the Italian Parliament, on May 23.
Martin Luther King, as reported in the Arcigay campaign, wrote, "It's not the loud noise of the violent that matters, but the frightening silence of honest people." Those who have been attacked know full well how true these words are.
Violence, unfortunately, is not just a punch, a spit, or an insult, but more often than not it is an unspoken word, a lowered gaze.
The political world cannot remain inactive in the face of what has become a national emergency for several years now. We must urgently pass a law that protects victims of homophobic and transphobic attacks, to build a more just and safer Italy for all.
