Family Day in Rome

From 365gay.com:

Tens of thousands of people plan to rally Saturday to protest a bill that would give legal rights to unmarried same- and opposite-sex couples, fueling a debate that has split Italy amid calls by Pope Benedict XVI to defend the traditional family.

The legislation, which awaits parliamentary approval, has underscored long-standing tensions in this largely Roman Catholic country between a desire to hold on to church-sanctioned traditions and a push toward greater secularisation.

Organisers of Saturday’s ”Family Day” include lay Catholic groups and family associations. While the demonstration has been endorsed by Italian bishops, neither the Vatican nor the Italian bishops’ conference is formally behind it.

“Family belongs to believers and nonbelievers alike,” said Gaetano Quagliariello, a center-right senator who helped organise the rally at Rome’s St. John Lateran piazza. “Family has to do with culture and civilisation.”

I’m so very tired of this stupidity. What people like Mr Quagliariello and his conservative friends in Forza Italia and the church refuse to understand is that gay rights in no way threatens family. The fact of the matter is that most of the reforms sought for by gays and lesbians will strengthen families if realised. The debate about marriage turned silly when conservative Christians began to label it anti-family when it clearly is the exact opposite. Gay people want to be able to form stable relationships and families with the same legal protection as any other. How can that possible be anything but family friendly?

The organisers of tomorrow’s protest against equal rights have chosen the motto “The family constructs the future of all” (La famiglia costruisce il futuro di tutti), which ironically is precisely the belief that motivates many gay-rights activists to fight so fiercely for marriage reform.