ITALY: Thousands of Italians stage rally in Rome to support approval of a law to recognise the civil rights of gay people and unwed couples

Thousands have staged a rally in Rome to support the approval of a law to recognise the civil rights of gay people and unwed couples. Thousands of Italians rallied on Saturday (March 10) in support of legal rights for unmarried gay and heterosexual couples while Roman Catholics launched a movement against what many of them consider an attack on the "traditional" family. Supporters of a bill to give unwed couples' rights in areas like inheritance filled a Roman piazza. Some were dressed in bishops' mitres with slogans against Vatican written on them. The Vatican sees the bill as an attack on the "natural" family based on marriage between men and women. "I am a declared gay and I have no fear in admitting that I am a gay priest', said Dimitri Bica, an orthodox ex-priest. "Probably there are many more like me and they are probably afraid to come out because they would see their life repudiated", he said. Catholics in the opposition and in the government cite an article in the constitution recognising the family rights of "natural" unions "based on marriage". They insist this refers exclusively to heterosexual unions. Some of the demonstrators openly accused the church of discrimination against gays and one of Saturday's protesters, Ada Gregacci, who was wearing a mitre with an anti-church slogan, said: "Italy can't get rid of its past. The problem is that the Vatican is in Italy, and this problem must be solved." The rally included leftists from Prime Minister Romano Prodi's coalition, which is divided on the issue. Some coalition Catholics call homosexuals "deviant" and promise to "bury" the bill, which is now being studied by a parliamentary committee. Prodi, a practising Catholic, promised rights for de facto couples in last year's election campaign. One of his supporters present at the rally, transgender leftist deputy Vladimir Luxuria, referring to Prodi's tiny majority in the Senate which forced him to briefly resign last month to impose his authority, said that the bill's supporters "have to be sensitive and open up the debate to the centre-right opposition". Catholic lay groups responded to the rally by launching the "Committee for the Family".

ITN Source | March 11, 2007

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