“"Letta's government is inadequate to the challenge of human rights." Meet at 3:00 PM in Piazza dei Santi Apostoli. Buses from different regions have been organized.
Bologna, December 3, 2013 – Given the stalemate of LGBT issues in the Italian political debate, aggravated by the silence of our country's institutions in the face of anti-gay behaviors carried out in territories close to ours, numerous associations that make up the LGBT movement (Arcigay, Arcilesbica, Agedo, Famiglie Arcobaleno, Mit, Radical Association "Certi diritti", Equality Italia) have called for Saturday 7 December 2013 starting at 3pm a national demonstration in Rome, in Piazza dei Santi Apostoli, entitled “Love is right”.
The Italian government's total disregard for LGBT rights, and human rights more generally, is unacceptable. The government responded with silence to our appeals during the Italy-Russia summit in Trieste, attended by President Vladimir Putin, a proponent of persecutory laws against gay, lesbian, and transgender people. There was no reaction even when Russia, in recent days, asserted Italy's exclusive role in the international adoption of Russian children, an alliance forged precisely because of Italy's failure to recognize same-sex families. Furthermore, not a word from the Italian government, and few isolated voices from Parliament, regarding the referendum held last Sunday in Croatia, which resulted in a (very narrow) majority (only 371 TP3T of eligible voters voted) in favor of an amendment to the constitution that would exclude same-sex marriage. This is an extremely alarming development that represents the realization of the dictatorship of majorities theorized by Tocqueville. Can the rights of a minority be subjected to a majority vote? What is the limit of this Pilate-like drift in European democratic systems, which reduces politics to an instrumental poll, in contexts of profound, opportunistically fueled ignorance, thereby delegitimizing bodies and institutions that are, in reality, the backbone of democracy? Can a democratic instrument like the referendum be used to impose the will of a majority on the living conditions of a minority?
Italy is among the protagonists of the dark wave sweeping across Europe: our country's backwardness in terms of LGBT rights doesn't worry the government in the slightest, having remained deaf to the LGBT community's repeated appeals. On the parliamentary front, the Senate Justice Committee has begun discussion of the Scalfarotto-Verini-Gitti bill against homotransphobia, an anachronistic and inadequate measure that, despite the good intentions of some, seems far from promising any improvement. Little and utterly inadequate progress has been made on bills for the recognition of LGBT couples. These bills, which were produced in large numbers in the aftermath of the polls, fueled by the now customary and always sterile electoral propaganda waged at the expense of LGBT people, have since remained mired in the quicksand of Italian politics. No debate has been opened on transgender people, a real target in this barbaric Italy, nor on the overcoming of Law 40 on assisted procreation, the clear obstacle that the clerical lobby in this country has placed to the realization of the desire for parenthood for all.
In short, the Letta government has proven totally inadequate to address issues of this magnitude, and at the same time, this Parliament has lost all ambition to represent LGBT people and give voice to their concerns.For lesbian, gay, and transgender people, and for those who wish to emerge from this country's cultural Middle Ages, the only path is to consistently and dignifiedly pursue a project that calls for equal rights, legal and social recognition of relationships, and the protection of individual, marital, and collective integrity. This is the time for rights, and no compromise or delay is acceptable.
The associations that make up the LGBT movement have chosen to take to the streets to demand a system of laws that guarantees freedom, self-determination, and civil rights!
• We want a real extension of the Mancino law that combats homophobic discrimination WITHOUT DISCOUNTS FOR ANYONE!
• Equal marriage for homosexual people
• Other institutions that protect lesbian, gay and straight de facto couples
• Recognition and protection of homosexual parenthood
• The change of personal data without the obligation of genital reassignment surgery for transsexual people
• The rewriting of law 40The demonstration will be led on stage by Vladimir Luxuria and will feature speeches by representatives of associations, well-known faces from the entertainment world, and stories of life and denied rights from the voices of gay, lesbian, and transgender citizens.
Among others, the actresses have already joined Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Octavia Piccolo And Claudia Gerini, the radio host The Pina. Various buses have been organized from Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Puglia, Campania, Tuscany, Turin, Genoa, Milan, and Trento: for information, visit the website Loveisright.it