A bed and breakfast in Italy's
southern region of Calabria has refused to allow a homosexual
couple to book a room in its facilities, causing public outcry
and calls for specific laws and policies to counter
discrimination.
The head of the Arcigay association said that the news of the
refusal, which the managers said was because the establishment
"does not accept gays and animals", was of serious concern and
that anti-discrimination policies should be brought in for the
country's tourism sector.
The mayor of Ricadi, the city in which the B&B is located,
personally invited the couple because "her city is absolutely
not homophobic as shown by the wedding ceremony between two
Neapolitan women she officiated over a few weeks ago", said
regional councilor Francesco Emilio Borrelli from the Green
party on a radio program.
Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini said that "I believe that
rejecting a request for a hotel reservation to people on the
basis of their sexual orientation is unacceptable both from the
point of view of human dignity, and it is also against the
principles of equality enshrined by our Constitution."
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