Italy's LGBTQ+ community led a big
rally in Milan on Saturday to defend the rights of
same-sex-parent families.
The protest was organized after the northern city was forced to
stop a procedure it had used to register both members of a
same-sex couple as the parents of a child after the prefect's
department warned it was illegal following consultations with
the interior ministry.
The procedure was based on the transcription into the Milan
civil register of foreign birth certificates of children
conceived by surrogacy, which is illegal in Italy, or assisted
fertility, which is only allowed for heterosexual couples here.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said the suspension of the
transcriptions was a "step backwards" while adding that he had
no alternative as he could not expose council employees to the
risk of facing criminal charges for registering these birth
certificates.
The mayor said he would stage a "political battle" to rectify
the situation, saying Italy should have a specific law allowing
both members of same-sex couples to be recognized as the parents
of a child.
Elly Schlein, the newly elected leader of the opposition,
centre-left Democratic Party (PD), was among the figures taking
part in Saturday's rally.
Earlier this week the ruling centre-right majority was decisive
as a Senate committee voted to reject an EU plan for the rights
of same-sex parents to be recognized throughout the bloc.
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