PRIDE WAVE, PROCESSION TODAY IN PARMA. PIAZZONI (ARCIGAY) IN ROCCELLA: "HE'S TELLING THE COUNTRY FAITHFUL TO DISGUISE HIS OWN FAILURES."“
Bologna, May 18, 2024 – Parma Pride is taking place today in Emilia, the second event in the Onda Pride calendar, the major demonstration in support of LGBTQ+ rights that annually connects dozens of Pride events in Italian cities. The march is scheduled to depart from Piazzale Santa Croce in Parma at 6:15 PM. "This demonstration comes on the heels of a very important day, when the hatred LGBTQ+ people face every day was widely discussed around the world," said Gabriele Piazzoni, Secretary General of Arcigay. An important day in Italy marked by the hypocrisy of the Meloni government, so blatant that it even embarrasses us, accustomed to that hypocrisy: yesterday at 1 p.m., Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni released a statement in which she spoke of Italy's commitment to combating homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia. A few hours later, the Minister for Equal Opportunities claimed that Italy had refused to sign a simple European Union declaration out of fear of "gender theory." Which is more or less like saying you're afraid of a werewolf, that is, something that doesn't exist. The minister would be right to worry instead about the fact that the latest reports from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights show Italy slipping down the European rankings on inclusivity and provide incontrovertible data of a worsening situation, with 681 TP3T of LGBT+ students reporting having experienced bullying, taunting, or discrimination at school, compared to 431 TP3T four years ago. Roccella may have whatever ideas she wants on these issues, but as Minister of Equal Opportunities, she has a duty to take responsibility for those numbers, with serious action. If, however, she wants to tell the country the tale of the bogeyman, then she should know that the country understands that it's just a lie to justify her failure to do her job," Piazzoni concludes.
