Italy Senate Rejects Bill Aimed at Fighting Homophobia
New proposals could take years to be approved.
Italy‘s Senate has rejected a bill that aims to fight homophobia, with 154 votes against and 131 votes in favor.
Dubbed “ddl Zan,” the bill was first introduced by Democratic Party lawmaker Alessandro Zan in May 2018. If it had passed, the anti-homophobia law would have allowed prison sentences for offenders of LGBTQ+-related hate crimes. According to Bloomberg, new proposals for anti-homophobia laws could take years to be approved by the parliament.
“ddl Zan” was proposed after Zan recognized the “exponential rise in the number and seriousness of acts of violence towards gay and transgender people.” After the bill was struck down, he wrote on Twitter that the result is “a betrayal of a political pact that wanted the country to take a step towards civilization.”
According to Arcigay, Italy’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights group, the country records more than 100 hate crime and discrimination cases a year.
