An idea of freedom
«"Don't equate regular couples with gay couples; don't confuse the family founded on marriage with other forms of cohabitation." The Tuscan bishops were clear; they even put their opinion in writing to the regional councilors responsible for drafting the new Statute, to avoid any free interpretation. And yesterday, it was Arcigay's turn to go to the commission to give its opinion on the draft institutional charter. Leading the delegation was the very active president, Alessio De Giorgi, who suggested that the heads of the dioceses take a look at the online survey published by the Episcopal Conference's weekly magazine, "Toscana Oggi." "They would discover that even among Catholics, their positions on the impossible equality of the different existing family types aren't met with widespread approval," says De Giorgi, supported in his fight by Arci, which is demanding that the document include both sexual freedoms and the right to vote for immigrants in regional elections, a position so far championed by the Democrats of the Left (DS) alone.
Another request from Arcigay concerns the explicit inclusion in Article 4 of the Statute of the rejection of any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation, as already provided for in the Nice Charter, and the expansion of the Equal Opportunities Commission to "all differences, beyond that of equality between men and women, to transform it into a tool for material equality between individuals." Countering the gays' words, the Forum of Catholic associations, aligned with the bishops and convinced of the need to reaffirm the concept of family from a Christian perspective in the Statute, also spoke in the council. Also heard yesterday were the Radicals—who pointed to the US regional electoral law as a model, with direct elections in single-member constituencies and a single round of voting—and the Laboratory for Democracy, which described the draft Statute as "a bit grey" and urged the commission to keep the consultation phase open.
