Bologna, December 13, 2014 – Arcigay president Flavio Romani learned with "regret" of the sanction imposed on Professor Davide Zotti for removing the crucifix from the classroom at the Trieste high school where he teaches. "The most incredible aspect of the Regional School Office's argument," Romani states, "is the confusion of a religious symbol with a school furnishing item, like a coat rack, a blackboard, or a locker. And that object, according to those who decided the sanction, was used beyond its intended purpose. But the principal does not explain what the "proper" function of that object is, nor does he question the legitimacy of that function in a school context. Indeed, this was precisely the focus of Professor Zotti's courageous gesture, when he rebelled against the display of a symbol that carries with it arbitrary ideological content, harmful to certain social groups (including homosexuals, but not only), and reiterated daily in all public and media settings. All of this, at the time of Professor Zotti's sanction, was ignored, swept under the rug. And with no small embarrassment, we discover that a crucifix can be considered a furnishing item, only to be deemed blasphemous if that symbol "Would the same thing happen," Romani provocatively asks, "if a crucifix were placed upside down, even by mistake?" "For our part," the president concludes, "we reiterate our full support for the professor's gesture and our solidarity with the unjust punishment he has received.".