Francesco Rutelli
“"Rutelli's proposed solution is unacceptable. It betrays the needs of gay citizens."”. This is the reaction of the national president of Arcigay Sergio Lo Giudice to the proposal, put forward by the President of the Margherita party, to address the issue of extramarital couples with private contracts.
“Replace the PACS – continues Lo Giudice – the so-called “Solidarity Cohabitation Contracts”, that is, contracts of an exclusively private nature, does not address the range of issues addressed in the bill on civil unions (PACS) signed by Franco Grillini and 160 other parliamentarians, to which Prodi himself recently referred. A new kind of general partnership (SNC) cannot seriously address the issue of the new social forms in which so many couples build their emotional and mutually supportive relationships. This offends the hundreds of thousands of Italians who live their shared life outside of marriage.
The search for a downward compromise on the backs of gay and lesbian couples, the last in Europe to remain without legal recognition, risks igniting the flames of social conflict. If the highly responsible attitude of the country's gay and lesbian community is to be responded to with a poisoned lentil dish, we send the proposal back to the sender.
And let's not bring it up’Article 29 of the Constitution which in no way can be an obstacle to the recognition of the rights of new social formations: to affirm the contrary is devoid of any legal foundation.
Rutelli, think again in the name of his position among the liberals in Europe or at least look at the proposals of the Spaniard Aznar and the Frenchman Villepin, both conservatives who have said yes to civil unions, if he does not want to keep pace with the European centre-left and liberal forces to which he also refers.”
“Regarding the survey published today by la Repubblica — concludes Lo Giudice — It seems evident to us that, as confirmed by the authors themselves, it is the result of a misunderstanding between civil unions and gay marriage. Proof of this is that a survey by Eurisko itself commissioned by the Waldensian Table last May, said that the 52% of the Italians is in favor of legislative recognition of gay unions.""
