Press Interpreter

In piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina fifty couples said ‘yes’ – a gesture to raise awareness about partnership laws.

05/21/05 -- Rome -- A colorful, festive crowd united this morning in piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina, in the heart of Rome, a stone’s throw away from the House of Parliament. The celebrants were there for “Pacs Day� (Pacs is the abbreviation of Patto civile di solidarietà, civil pact of solidarity), a day of civil unions between gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples. The event was organized by Arcigay Italy, the national gay advocacy group, to attract public attention to the law currently in parliament which seeks to recognize civil partnerships for heterosexual and homosexual couples.

Together with about fifty couples were Alessandro Zanna, a Padova city councilor of the Democrats of the Left, the country’s main center-left party, as well as Rome city councilors Patrizia Sentinelli of the Refounded Communists, Pino Galeota and Maurizo Bartolucci of the Democrats of the Left, Sergio Lo Giudice, the president of Arcigay Italy, as well as Franco Grillini and Vanni Piccolo, two prominent Italian gay activists. Further present were Katia Belillo of the Italian Communists, the Rome city councilor Enzo Foschi and Imma Battaglia, the leader of DìGayProject.

“It’s an important day, how moving,� say two young men, in their early thirties, holding hands. Some, wishing to symbolize a real marriage, bring flowers to their friends participating in “Pacs.�

The couples, after having filled out some forms, stood in front of the public officials (from Foschi to Sergio Lo Giudice) who read them the articles of the “Pacs,� which, although they have no legal value, have a high symbolic value. This was followed by an exchange of rings, kisses and embraces, to the joy of photographers. After the ceremonies, the couples paraded along Via del Corso to the Campidoglio.

“This is an initiative without precedent but which will be repeated all over Italy,� said Franco Grillini, “For this reason we founded the Italian League for De Facto Families (www.liff.it), a secular association which will consult with the courts.�

At the same time as Pacs Day, the Youth Action section of the National Alliance (ex-Fascist) party organized a mobilization in favor of the family in 50 Roman piazzas to say no to marriages and adoptions for gay couples. “In San Lorenzo in Lucina and at the Campidoglio we see the true face of the center-left Olive Branch coalition, which winks at the Catholic Church but really is a representative of the worst moral and ethical relativism,� said Federico Iadicicco, national director and Roman president of Youth Action. He continued, “Defending the family means defending history, culture, traditions and values which characterized the life of men. We say no to gay marriages and adoptions and there are no ideological prejudices in this position.�

[Full article]

By La Repubblica staff

--Translated by Alexander Bevilacqua

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