Photo By Chief Petty Officer Kegan Kay | 220614-N-OX321-1002 CATANIA, Italy (June 14, 2022) Lele Russo, a lawyer, poses for a...... read more read more
June has been designated as LGBTQ+ Pride Month and this September will mark 11 years since the repeal of Department of Defense’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which allowed service members and DoD civilian to serve openly and acknowledge their sexual orientation.
“The diversity of the United States is unquestionably one of our greatest strengths. Many here today have fought hard battles to overcome bigotry and be treated with dignity and respect that is due to every human being,” said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks during the 11th LBGTQ+ Pride Ceremony held at the Pentagon.
June was first recognized as Pride Month in 1999 to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, New York. The Stonewall riots marked a poignant point for the gay liberation movement in the United States.
Since 1969, the U.S. has seen many changes regarding civil rights. The rights of the LGBTQ+ community especially have seen strides towards more equality, yet there is still a long way to go.
Out of the 50 U.S. states, only 21 have laws to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations.
It was only as recent as 2003 in the Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas that resulted in a nationwide decriminalization of homosexual relations and in 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges that legally recognized same-sex marriage across the nation.
Unfortunately, the U.S. isn’t the only country where people are currently battling for their civil rights.
Lele Russo, a lawyer based in Catania, specializes in LGBTQ+ issues for the “protection, respect and promotion of differences.” Russo is not only active in fighting for the rights of others, but as a transgender man, fighting for his own rights within Italian law.
In comparison to the U.S., Italy falls behind in acknowledging the rights of LBGTQ+ community and a lot of attempts to garner civil rights have been shut down to due to both religious and political reasons.
Russo explained that same-sex marriage is not legal but that they have civil unions instead. When it comes to families, gay couples are not allowed to adopt and surrogacy is illegal in Italy. Therefore, many couples go abroad to the U.S. or Canada to get a surrogate.
However, even upon return to Italy, the law only recognizes ‘the biological’, the parent who shares DNA with the child, as the legal parent.
For Russo to even pick up his own children from school, he must have a legal waiver, like a power of attorney, to do so.
Furthermore, in the event of the legal parent’s death, the other parent has no rights to the child.
“There have been some court verdicts that recognize what they call ‘the intentional parents’ but they are still trying to break through this because there is no law that protects same-sex couples,” explained Russo.
However, this course of legal action only works when the child is older to prove that the other parent is already taking care of the child. Therefor it hasn’t been applicable to newborns and infants.
“The problem is that even if the judge rules in your favor, the adoption is only for the individual parents, not for the relatives,” said Russo. “If something happens to both parents, only the ‘the biological’ parent’s relatives will have legal guardianship over the child. There are no rights to the relatives of the other parent. However, if the ‘the biological’ passes but the other parent does not, this means that ‘the biological’ relatives can claim the child, despite the other parent still being alive.
Yet for a couple in which one partner transitions to a different sex, they are protected more than a same-sex couple. Once the transgender individual completes their transition with legal paperwork to confirm their new sex, under Italian law, they would be afforded the same rights as a heterosexual couple to include adoption and marriage.
There are three primary legal objectives that the LGBTQ+ community would like to see come into effect within Italian law:
The first is equal marriage rights for same-sex couples and heterosexual couples. Second, the possibility of adoption for a single parent or a gay couple. Third is to reform the law regarding transgender and homosexuality being considered illness and that it becomes just an orientation to align with the World Health Organizations’ revocation on May 17, 1990, regarding homosexuality being a disease, disturbance, or a perversion.
Another important piece of legislation that they are trying to pass is the Zan bill, a proposed anti-phobia law that was proposed by Alessandro Zan, a member of the parliament for the center-left Democratic Party.
“Basically it’s a proposal law that will make discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity a crime in Italy in response to an exponential rise in the number of acts of violence towards gay and transgender people,” said Russo.
Unfortunately, the bill was rejected in November 2001 by the right-leaning party, with Catholic influences, as they fought the idea of creating an awareness day in school, claiming it could corrupt the children.
These are just a few of the large battles that Russo and other civil rights lawyers are currently fighting.
In addition to his legal work, Russo is a councilor member of Arcigay Pegaso Catania, serving as the Head of the Legal and Rights Area as well as the head of the transgender groups to include those who consider themselves nonbinary.
According to the arcigay.it website, “Arcigay is a national reality and consists of 73 affiliated association and local committees. Together, we collaborate to promote and convey all over the country our values, turning them into actual activities and initiatives in favor of the LBGT+ community.”
May of this year, Arcigay Pegaso Catania and Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale (ASP) Catania signed a memorandum of understanding that NewsSicilia reported “intend to promote greater awareness, in the professional community and on the territory, on the issues of fundamental human rights; and to carry out constant training and refresher courses, aimed at healthcare personnel, aimed at creating precision medicine courses that take into account the specific needs of screening, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of LGBT people.”
“For example, when we are talking about HIV, usually only men are addressed, but we are also trying to encourage prevention for women; like the use of a dental barrier, which no one usually talks about,” stated Russo. “They talk about prevention with use of condoms. They don’t talk about prevention between homosexual women, yet two women can get AIDS.”
In the Catania/ San. Giorgo area, ASP created what is called a special division, only for those who are on the transgender path. They have Dr. Mario Vettri, who specializes in hormone treatment, leading psychologies and a team of experts.
Arcigay Catania is a safe haven that anyone can come to for help with legal, medical, and counseling needs. They also have many specialized groups that focus on only discussing specific issues such as a group for women, a group for youth and a group for transgender & nonbinary, which Russo is in charge of. Despite the multiple different specific purposes, these groups all cooperate and interact with each other.
“It used to be called Gay Pride but it’s now called Pride, because this is a common fight for human rights that we all fight together,” said Russo. “We are all intertwined among each other, so we are all together trying to fight for our civil rights.”
Russo encourages everyone to not be afraid of the patriarchal society and what they think, and that to the youth to seek help because there’s a lot of organization that can help them to get their rights. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
“If you don’t come out, and tell who you are, then there is no way to be the star in your own life,” stated Russo. “We ourselves have to fight for our rights. Nobody else is going to fight for your rights. So it’s very important to come out if you want change.”
While June is the designated Pride Month, Arcigay holds Pride events throughout Italy and Sicily from June through September.
Catania Pride will be held June 28 through July 2, which will include Pride Village held at Le Ciminiere exhibition center. The village will include band performances, art exhibitions, presentation of LGBTQ+ books and movie screenings, and friendly debates. The event will end with a parade then a closing party on the July 2nd.
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.29.2022 06:13 |
| Story ID: | 424008 |
| Location: | SIGONELLA, IT |
| Hometown: | CATANIA, IT |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fighting for the Rights of All, by CPO Kegan Kay, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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