Joe.My.God. LGBT News
From the New York Times:
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Saturday in nearly 100 cities across Italy to urge the government to permit gay and lesbian couples to have civil unions and legally recognized families.
Mirco Pierro, 39, rallied in front of the Pantheon in Rome with his partner and twin infants, saying he wanted “to defend the rights of our children, not just our rights.” Pierro and his partner were married in Los Angeles but their union is not recognized in Italy and only one of them has parental rights.
“They are here. They exist, they are part of our families, and it is unfair that they do not have the same rights as other Italian children,” he said. “This is the main reason that bring us here.” The gay rights group Arcigay estimated that 1 million people participated in the demonstrations, calling it “a historic day for our country.”
More from Reuters:
“Wake up Italy, it’s time to be civilized,” was the slogan chosen for rallies in almost 100 towns and cities in the only major country in the West not to give same-sex couples any legal recognition or protection on issues from pensions to parenthood.
“In Italy people think that there are those who are allowed to have rights and those who aren’t,” said Liliana Rizzo, a member of a gay parents’ association, at a rally outside the Pantheon in central Rome.
“We don’t want to take anything away from the traditional families …but our families also exist, our children exist and our children need to have both of their parents recognized.”
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italy for failing to introduce a law on civil unions, but with the influence of the Catholic Church seen as a strong brake, legislation has been held up by politicians of all stripes
Debate on the bill begins Thursday.