Arcigay Press Release - Constitutional Court - We want civil marriage
15/04/2010
Submitted by
Arcigay - Italian lesbian and gay association
WE WANT CIVIL MARRIAGE
THE ANTIQUITY OF A PREJUDICE IS NOT A REASON FOR ITS SURVIVAL
Arcigay respects the decision of the Italian Constitutional Court to defer the same-sex marriage issue to the Parliament. But we know that Europe and the Western legal culture are on the side of the LGBT movement and support the recognition of full equality of rights.
In spite of the Court’s decision, we were able to note an improvement in the debate, that now needs new energy and a renewed commitment in order to become part of the social and legal culture in a wider and more popular way.
Italian gay people are walking on the same path to emancipation which other social groups like slaves, women, Jews and blacks walked before them. The steps are similar, and the result can only be the same. As in the past, this will mark a step forward not only for the rights of the people we represent, but for the whole society, which will find itself more free and just.
Today’s negative outcome leads us to raise the level of our battle for civilization, with the awareness that the Law is a living, constantly changing entity, just like the society. After all, in the past, the Constitutional Court issued important rulings and then reversed its verdicts just a few years later. In the early sixties, when it was consulted on adultery, the Court declared the legitimacy of legislation which punished with imprisonment women, but not men. Only a few years later, the same Court completely changed its mind and declared it unconstitutional, recognizing that the customs had changed. The same happened for even more important laws, as those regarding divorce and abortion.
It has taken stubborn and tenacious struggles to remove, one by one, the obstacles to full equality. We will need the same tenacity nowadays to allow gays and lesbians to have their rights guaranteed. With this determination, we will carry on with our fight for freedom with a new instrument: the national Committee "Yes I do" (Comitato “Si’ Lo Voglio”), that will strengthen our cultural and legal work to obtain same-sex marriage.
We today reaffirm what the Supreme Court of South Africa stated when it ruled in favour of same-sex marriages: "The antiquity of a prejudice is not a reason for its survival."
Arcigay - Italian lesbian and gay association
www.arcigay.it - international@arcigay.it
THE ANTIQUITY OF A PREJUDICE IS NOT A REASON FOR ITS SURVIVAL
Arcigay respects the decision of the Italian Constitutional Court to defer the same-sex marriage issue to the Parliament. But we know that Europe and the Western legal culture are on the side of the LGBT movement and support the recognition of full equality of rights.
In spite of the Court’s decision, we were able to note an improvement in the debate, that now needs new energy and a renewed commitment in order to become part of the social and legal culture in a wider and more popular way.
Italian gay people are walking on the same path to emancipation which other social groups like slaves, women, Jews and blacks walked before them. The steps are similar, and the result can only be the same. As in the past, this will mark a step forward not only for the rights of the people we represent, but for the whole society, which will find itself more free and just.
Today’s negative outcome leads us to raise the level of our battle for civilization, with the awareness that the Law is a living, constantly changing entity, just like the society. After all, in the past, the Constitutional Court issued important rulings and then reversed its verdicts just a few years later. In the early sixties, when it was consulted on adultery, the Court declared the legitimacy of legislation which punished with imprisonment women, but not men. Only a few years later, the same Court completely changed its mind and declared it unconstitutional, recognizing that the customs had changed. The same happened for even more important laws, as those regarding divorce and abortion.
It has taken stubborn and tenacious struggles to remove, one by one, the obstacles to full equality. We will need the same tenacity nowadays to allow gays and lesbians to have their rights guaranteed. With this determination, we will carry on with our fight for freedom with a new instrument: the national Committee "Yes I do" (Comitato “Si’ Lo Voglio”), that will strengthen our cultural and legal work to obtain same-sex marriage.
We today reaffirm what the Supreme Court of South Africa stated when it ruled in favour of same-sex marriages: "The antiquity of a prejudice is not a reason for its survival."
Arcigay - Italian lesbian and gay association
www.arcigay.it - international@arcigay.it
