Italy rejects a law to combat violence against LGBTQ people. Right-wing extremists and Catholic groups had previously repeatedly protested against the initiative.
Rome – After months of debate, the Senate in Rome has rejected a proposed anti-homophobia law. The law would have classified calls for violence against LGBTQ people, the disabled and women as a hate crime. LGBTQ is the abbreviation for the English words lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual / transgender and queer.
The vote on the draft law took place on Wednesday (October 27, 2021) with a total of 315 members of the Senate. 154 people had voted against and 131 in favor, according to the British daily The Guardian.
Vote on anti-homophobia law in Italy – protest by right-wing extremists and Catholic groups
In particular, the right-wing populist parties Lega Nord and Fratelli d’Italia were against the initiative. In their view, the law suppressed freedom of expression and encouraged “homosexual propaganda” in schools.
Right-wing extremists and Catholic groups had exerted pressure and protested the law for months. The Vatican had also commented on the planned LGBTQ law. Last June, he called on the government to amend the bill, fearing it would violate the Catholic Church’s “freedom of thought”.
LGBTQ law rejected in Italy – homophobia would have been equated with racism
The so-called Zan law was initiated by Alessandro Zan from the Democratic Party (PD), who also works as an LGBTQ activist. “The Senate has decided to turn away from the real needs of the country,” he criticized after the vote.
If the law had been approved, homophobia would have been equated with racism in the Italian Criminal Code. Violations would have threatened imprisonment of up to four years. Initiatives that work for the rights of LGBTQ people and against discrimination could also have expected an increase in their financial resources. The Chamber of Deputies, Italy’s larger of the two chambers of parliament, had already given the draft law the green light in November 2020, according to Deutsche Welle.
Attacks against LGBTQ people – Italy is lagging behind in tackling homophobia
The law debate was preceded by a series of high profile attacks on LGBTQ people. Human rights groups are said to receive hundreds of reports of hate crimes each year. However, many went unpunished, according to The Guardian. Although Italy officially approved same-sex civil partnerships in 2016, the country is lagging behind its EU partners in introducing measures against homophobia. Other attempts by various governments to pass a similar law in Italy had also been blocked by right-wing extremist and Catholic groups over the past three decades.
Matteo Salvini from the right-wing extremist Lega Nord party said after the vote that the arrogance of the PD and M5S (Five Star Movement) had now been defeated. The debate should now be resumed with a league bill that would allow freedom of expression. When the law was rejected in the Senate, the parties Lega Nord and Fratelli d’Italia stood up and cheered loudly, according to The Guardian. This should also be seen on a video on Twitter.
This is Italy’s Senate CHEERING after #DDLZAN, a law that could have protected LGBTQ+ people, women, people with disabilities and pretty much any minority from hate crimes, had been pushed back and blocked.
I’m ashamed and scared.
pic.twitter.com/2FT0QchVrH
— marilea | 𝙢𝙚𝙬’𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙬 🚀 (@thursday2102) October 27, 2021
LGBTQ law rejected in Italy – “You want to take Italy back in history”
Pina Picierno, member of the PD in the European Parliament, described the vote as “one of the worst sides in the history of the Italian Republic”. Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio of the M5S also called the result of the vote a “disgrace” and complained that homosexuals are still being discriminated against in Italy. Enrico Letta, the former Prime Minister and current PD chief, criticized the members of the Senate who voted against the law. “You wanted to prevent the future. They wanted to take Italy back in history, ”he said, according to The Guardian.
Many LGBTQ groups in Italy also commented on the result of the vote. Gaynet Roma wrote on Facebook: “We are tired of suffering this institutional violence. It will certainly not be a law that determines our existence, but it would be an important step towards recognizing the daily violence we experience as LGBTQIA + people, women and people with disabilities. ”A new version of the law can be passed to the Senate according to the regulations not be submitted to Parliament for another six months. (Anna Charlotte Groos)
