Italian Lawmakers Stand up for LGBT Rights

Political change can be a very slow process and sometimes it seems impossible to get laws passed in favor of equality. That is is why lawmakers in Italy are taking things into their own hands and gaining international attention for same-sex protections.

A Kiss to End Discrimination

In an attempt to make a stand against Italy’s exclusion of the LGBT community in its 1993 non-discrimination law a group of lawmakers held a same-sex “kiss-in” before preliminary hearings to modify the law. This demonstration hopes to bring attention to same-sex inequality under Italian law and help combat against homophobia in the generally religious and conservative political environment. This modification would add protections against “crimes motivated by homophobia or transphobia,” and include sexual orientation as a basis of discrimination under the law [Rawstory].

When most of the world seems caught up in the fight for same-sex marriage it is easy to that there are still many places (including the United States) that don’t yet have protections for basic discrimination based on sexual orientation. It may be awhile before Italy passes this amendment, but this act is promising if not heartwarming at the very least.