The beautiful demonstration in Rome and the affection shown by the Roman population demonstrate that in Italy too the time is ripe to bridge the gap with the rest of Europe and pass a law on Civil Solidarity Pacts in Italy too.
Arcigay apre da oggi una grande mobilitazione nel paese per una raccolta di firme a supporto della legge sui PACS.
“"Already in 1995, in just a few months, Arcigay collected 150,000 signatures in support of a law on Civil Unions. Today, that number is joined by the broader segment of public opinion that now supports the battle for the recognition of gay and lesbian love," is the appeal launched by Arcigay national president Sergio Lo Giudice. "We invite associations, movements, and parties that share this commitment to civility to join this initiative and work with us to end this absurd discrimination.".
Sappiamo — prosegue Lo Giudice – di avere di fronte la dura opposizione dei gendarmi dell’integralismo omofobo. AN continua ad ingannare il suo stesso elettorato, presentando l’amore gay come un intollerante attacco alla famiglia tradizionale ( Maria Ida Germontani) e definendolo “una caricatura” ( Storace) o arrivando a paragonare i gay ai cani, come ha fatto oggi Riccardo Pedrizzi.
Minister Buttiglione's statements also sound jarring and anti-historical. He excludes gay unions from the definition of family, in open conflict with the Nice Charter (and ratified by the Italian Parliament) in Article 9, which distinguishes between the right to marry and the right to found a family. This is the clearest response to those who consider Article 29 of the Italian Constitution an insurmountable obstacle to legislating for gay couples, almost as if recognizing the rights of the traditional family would necessarily result in the denial of other, newer rights.
Other significant sectors of the parliamentary majority—concludes the president of Arcigay—prefer, like Don Abbondio, to adopt the system that consists of "avoiding all conflicts," yielding to Vatican pressure where conflict cannot be avoided. Raised on the reading of Manzoni's masterpiece, we know that, sooner or later, the new bravos in cassocks or green shirts will be defeated and that our love will triumph over the cowardice of politics and the arrogance of power.