Italy’s PM defends LGBT record after Trudeau clash – Reuters
Canada’s prime minister slams Rome’s ‘stance’ on LGBT issues at G7 summit in Japan
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended his record on LGBT issues at the weekend’s G7 meeting, telling reporters that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “victim of fake news” after expressing concern about his actions on LGBT rights in front of reporters on Friday.
As the television cameras rolled, Trudeau told Meloni that “Canada is concerned about some of Italy’s positions on LGBT rights” and said he looked forward to discussing the issues with her. She grimaced but didn’t answer.
Meloni would have been “surprised” to hear his Canadian counterpart address the issue, as it was not on the meeting’s agenda, Italian media later reported.
Speaking to the press before leaving Hiroshima on Sunday, Meloni explained that Trudeau had been “a bit reckless” in his comments but had probably realized after talking to her that what was written about her in the media bore little resemblance to reality and that he had been “the victim of fake news.” She added that she hasn’t actually changed any LGBT laws in the country.
Meloni and Trudeau “exchanged views on the importance of protecting and defending human rights, including the rights of LGBTQI+ people”, according to a statement from Trudeau’s office released Friday. “Meloni replied that his government followed court rulings and did not deviate from previous administrations,” the statement continued.
Earlier this year, the Italian Interior Ministry asked city councils to stop registering both members of a same-sex couple as parents of a child and instead register only the parent. biological. The procedure stems from the way the foreign birth certificates of surrogate-conceived children were transcribed to comply with Italian law, which prohibits surrogacy and limits assisted reproduction to heterosexual couples. LGBT activists denounced the notice as homophobic.
Meloni has espoused mainstream gender views, explaining in a March interview that “Being male or female is rooted in who we are and cannot be changed.”
The Prime Minister’s culture spokesman ruffled feathers last year when he said “presenting [same-sex couples] like normal is wrong, because it is not” And “In Italy, homosexual couples are not legal, are not allowed” in a television interview. Italy legalized same-sex civil unions in 2016.
You can share this story on social media:
rt Gt
