#im sorry i just thought you should know

In case you didn’t know: two days ago the Italian Senate had to vote on whether or not to approve a law called DDL Zan (from the name of the man who wrote it, Alessandro Zan) which suggested an addition to an already existing law: the Mancino law that punishes hate crimes caused by discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion and nationality.

The DDL Zan’s purpose was to add “sex”, “gender”, “gender identity”, “disability” and “sexual orientation” to this pre-existing law, therefore making homotransphobic hate speech illegal.

It did not pass.

Not only did the right wing spread misinformation and ignorance in order to kill a law against hate, not only did they stomp on our hope to be heard, not only did they force Italy to take a step backwards.
They also openly celebrated live on tv.

Look at how happy they are to have stepped on our rights.

If you ever thought Italy was a wonderful place made of good food and pretty landscapes, if you ever thought about moving here, please reconsider.
Italy is a bigot country, lead by fear and obsolete beliefs, too stubborn to ever question itself and its morals.

It took me 10 years to understand I was bisexual, 10 years after I first realized I was attracted to a girl, because I never even heard the word “bisexual” before I turned 19. I work in a school now and I see too many kids growing up ignorant and homophobic like their parents.
This law could’ve changed that; Zan included the possibility of a day dedicated to spreading awareness about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools.
But Italy is clearly not ready for that yet.

I have never felt more ashamed of my country.

(Sign reads: “You buried the DDL Zan but you won’t bury our voices”, from protestors in Rome after the vote.)