Speaking shortly after a popular demonstration outside the Italian Parliament organised by Manif Pour Tous Italia – mobilised against radical LGBT attempts to criminalise supporters of the traditional family under the description of homophobia and transphobia – Luca Volontè, DHI Chairman and President for Life of the European People’s Party in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, said:
“Genuine discrimination of a person on such grounds is already covered by existing anti-discrimination laws; therefore there is no legitimate need to add these rather sinister limits on freedom of expression. Evidently, Italian proponents of gay marriage have seen the large displays of opposition from all corners of the civil society in France and Britain, and are consequently seeking to criminalise and suppress any opposition to their own plans before they are even discussed. If this ‘discrimination’ bill is allowed to pass, the affirmation of core Christian principles will effectively become a criminal offence. With even some LGBT groups pulling their support due to the various discrepancies of the proposed text, it is time to call a halt and think again. All sectors of society must be protected by law – but these civil protections should not become political weapons intended to criminalise debate.
Independent studies have repeatedly shown that the best environment to raise a child is with both a mother and a father who are married to one another. So-called gay marriage legislation is little more than a gigantic ideologically driven, social engineering experiment that seeks to distil all the chaos of the 1960s into the new Western standard of family policy. The silent majority, including many homosexuals, have to have the courage to say no to the militants.”
The demonstration organised by Manif Pour Tous Italia is one of several public demonstrations seen this month in protest to what is effectively a gagging law. In a poorly disguised effort to silence public opposition to future gay marriage plans, expressing support for the traditional family would become an act of ‘homophobia’, a term that remains undefined and open to interpretation by the bill itself. Such thought crimes would be punishable by up to four years in prison.
This affront to the freedom of thought, opinion and religious liberty has been instigated before in Italy, however past attempts have been deemed unconstitutional. With Tuesday’s attempt to work through the multitude of amendments at a jam, it is likely the bill will now be carried over to September, and continued after the summer recess.
