I cannot help but speak out about the escalating homophobia in my mother’s home country of Italy (and where some of my father’s ancestors are from). The aspiring fascist prime minister there is trying to earn political points by stripping away lesbian mothers of their rights and legally breaking apart families. As a Board alum of six years, I reached out to FamilyEquality.org with my outrage as an Italo-American still eligible for dual citizenship and how this is clearly violative of the European Union’s higher courts, which I hope step in. Giorgia Meloni is making examples of some lesbian mothers by literally removing their names from birth certificates based on the non-biological ties to their own children. Now they are working on criminalizing surrogacy, just to round out the homophobia.

I constantly remind people that the equivalent of Italy’s founding fathers are both GAY – Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo, not to mention countless other Renaissance pillars, popes, etc.

This is exactly the kind of underhanded bigotry that we are still fighting against in what should be a modern world. As a gay parent, I am appalled, but very pleased that Family Equality Executive Director Stacey Stevenson replied to my pleas for the organization to make an official statement, which they have now done. This is a perfect response to these troubling developments:

Family Equality Condemns Rising Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation in Italy Targeting LGBTQ+ Parents and Families

August 11, 2023

Soon after prime minister Giorgia Meloni issued a public order removing the names of nonbiological LGBTQ+ parents from their children’s birth certificates, the Italian parliament approved a bill that criminalized surrogacy abroad.

Washington, D.C. — Family Equality, the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families in America, condemns recent actions taken by the Italian government to undermine and diminish the rights of LGBTQ+ parents and families, including removing nonbiological LGBTQ+ parents from birth certificates and, more recently, approving a bill that would criminalize surrogacy abroad. 

With surrogacy and other reproductive medical treatments like IVF already prohibited for LGBTQ+ couples in Italy, this legislation not only denies LGBTQ+ people the opportunity to start their family — it threatens to put prospective parents in jail for even trying. The measure, which passed in the chamber of deputies with 166 votes in support, needs approval by the Italian senate before being passed into law. 

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the unconditional joy and belonging of family, no matter who you love or where you live,” said Family Equality CEO, Stacey Stevenson. “What we’re seeing from the top elected officials in Italy is unconscionable. And yet, these actions reflect what we’re seeing outside our own front door, as politicians and pundits alike spout dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric instead of focusing on passing legislation that keeps us all safe, healthy, and protected. To the LGBTQ+ families in Italy, know that we stand in solidarity with you and will fight with our partners in this international community to preserve your fundamental right to find and form family.”