“God, fatherland and family,” was the slogan of Giorgia Meloni and her party, Brothers of Italy, in the election campaign last autumn. She ended up forming a government that has been characterized as the most right-wing since World War II, when fascist Benito Mussolini ruled. Many queers feared that they would lose their rights. Now some notice a shift in politics. Italian mothers are being removed from birth certificates. “It is love that creates a family” was written on the T-shirts of several of the children who took part in the demonstration in Milan. Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP / NTB – As if I don’t exist In several places, women are removed from their children’s birth certificates because they are lesbians. Meloni’s coalition government announced in March that the authorities would no longer register children of same-sex couples, prompting major protests in Milan. In Padua, 27 parents have received letters from local authorities that they will be removed from their child’s birth certificate. The same has happened in Milan, Florence and Fiumicino, writes PinkNews. – It’s as if I don’t exist. I suspect the authorities are afraid that families who look different can be happy. Yes, maybe even happier, than a traditional family, says Michela Liedi according to LGBTQ Nation. She is not the biological mother of the daughter she has with her wife Viola, who they had after artificial insemination. They have been together for 11 years and both work as teachers for children with special needs. The change means that if Viola dies, the daughter can end up with the family on her side or in child protection – while Michela has no rights. Giorgia Meloni is Italy’s first female prime minister. Photo: WOJTEK RADWANSKI / AFP / NTB Rejects that she is homophobic When their daughter was born, the mayor signed the birth certificate and, according to the couple, he was “very supportive”. The District Court has rejected their complaint, and local judges will not forward the case to the Supreme Court either. Meloni is the country’s first female prime minister, and denies that she is homophobic. Her party has nevertheless made a big deal of rhetoric against same-sex parents and talks a lot about traditional family values. – We want a nation where it is no longer scandalous to say that we are all born of a man and a woman, said Meloni in a speech recently. Coalition partner Matteo Salvini has previously called gay parents “unnatural”. Support in the population There is nothing in Italian law that deprives both in a same-sex couple of the possibility of being recognized as parents, which means that local authorities decide. The signal from the government is nevertheless that it is illegal, after the Supreme Court in December stopped two men from having equal parental rights after they brought a child to Italy via surrogacy. Opposition politicians have condemned this. – These families are tired of being discriminated against. We are talking about boys and girls who are already part of our communities and go to school, says Elly Schlein, leader of Partito Democratico. And the government is apparently not quite on the same wavelength as the people. A survey earlier this summer showed that two thirds of Italians are positive about same-sex parents and adoption.
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