It’s tempting to think that in Europe at least the LGBTQ community has virtually won its fight for equal rights.
In supposedly uptight Britain, same-sex couples on Strictly Come Dancing are told by straight judges to be a bit less… inhibited…
There are no same-sex shenanigans on Italy’s Ballando con le Stelle. But over there that’s the least of many gay people’s problems.
Thanks to the malign presence of the Vatican, and the nature of the far-right in its mainstream politics, Italy’s parliament is unable to pass a simple hate-crime law to combat the country’s (ample) homophobic violence – in spite of 10 years’ of trying.
Two far-right groupings voted last Wednesday to block the “Zan bill” in the Senate. Matteo Salvini’s League party and the even nastier “post-fascist” Fratelli d’Italia party led by Giorgia Meloni. Alessandro Zan is the politician and LGBTQ activist who promoted the bill.
National polls suggest they have the support of 24 per cent and 18 per cent of the Italian electorate, respectively. » | Michael Day, Chief Foreign Commentator | Published: Thursday, November 4, 2021; Updated, Friday, November 5, 2021
