The Guardian News reports; A top US LGBT rights advocate has warned that Italy will face deep economic repercussions if it fails to legalise civil unions for same-sex couples, including reluctance by multinational companies to invest in the country.
The Italian senate is due to begin debating proposed legislation that
would recognise civil unions for same-sex couples on Thursday. But it
is far from clear whether the government of Matteo Renzi, the
left-of-centre prime minister who supports the bill, has garnered enough
support for it to pass.
Italy is the only country in western Europe that does not recognise civil unions or gay marriage.
“I think the eyes of the world, especially the LGBT world, are squarely on Italy
now,” said Justin Nelson, the co-founder of the US-based National Gay
& Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).
“It is not only a question of
tourists [boycotting Italy] if it fails but a business question. For a
country with a growing economy to have such a glaring omission will
undoubtedly have negative economic impacts.”
For months, it looked like the long-awaited proposal would pass in
the Italian parliament because public opinion supports the legal rights
associated with civil unions. But a proposal in the bill that would
allow a person in a same-sex relationship to adopt their partner’s child
has created controversy, with conservative members of Renzi’s
Democratic party vowing to vote against it. The interior minister,
Angelino Alfano, a member of the New Centre-Right party, is one of the
most vocal critics of the so-called “step-child provision”.
This week, Alfano suggested he would seek to overturn the legislation if
it passed by calling for a referendum on the measure. Lawmakers have
not yet announced when the vote in the upper chamber will take place,
though it is likely to be next week. Opposition to the legislation is
being led by Catholic organisations, who are expected to stage a “family
day” protest on Saturday.
According to Italian media reports, the Renzi government is waiting
to see how many people join that protest before deciding whether or not
to scrap the provision in the final hour.
The NGLCC, which is based in Washington but is opening chapters of
its organisation around the world, seeks to use economic pressure from
LGBT entrepreneurs and others to extend equal rights to that community.
On a recent trip to Italy, where a new chapter is due to open this
year, Nelson focused much attention on how rights for the LGBT community
were regressing in Venice, where a newly elected mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, has made homophobic remarks. Last year, Brugnaro also removed 50 books from city classrooms that were about same-sex families.
Nelson said he met tourism officials in Venice in October to point
out that LGBT Americans have more disposable income and travel three
times more than their heterosexual counterparts. Italy – and especially
Venice – has traditionally been considered a favourite destination of
LGBT Americans, but he pointed out that this could change.
“Banning books, making inflammatory comments about children,
abandoning pride parades, it is right out of the losing playbook here in
America,” Nelson said.
Asked whether he would advocate a boycott of the city, he said: “I’m
always hesitant about a boycott. I prefer the word ‘educate’. I have no
problem whatsoever using our megaphone to share what cities and what
countries are doing what for LGBT inclusion and who is progressing and
who is regressing, and we will let travellers make their own
determinations.”
While Nelson said he did not seek out a meeting with Brugnaro, he
said his economic argument for equal rights and inclusion sometimes
reached people in ways that “crying out in the town square” did not.
“The message was simple: the mayor and his policies of homophobia and
his anti-gay propaganda is putting at risk significant tourism dollars
and the reputation of the city,” he said.
A spokesman for the mayor’s office did not return a request for comment from The Guardian news.
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