Meloni cannot continue to trample children's rights -Schlein

(see related story) (ANSA) - ROME, MAR 5 - The government of Premier Giorgia Meloni cannot continue to trample on the dignity of children of gay couples said the leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (Pd) Elly Schlein after a Padua court upheld the right of both partners in a lesbian couple to be registered as mothers.
    Hailing the "good news" from the northern Veneto region, Schlein blasted the fact that "one again" the protection of children of homosexual couples has had to pass through a court.
    "Politics and parliament (now) have an important responsibility: to approve a law that recognizes equal dignity for all families," she added. "The PD has already filed a bill that goes in this direction, as have many of the other opposition forces. What does Giorgia Meloni's government have to say? Will she continue to stonewall us, or will she allow us to bring Italy in line with other EU countries?" The government "cannot continue to ignore and trample on the dignity and rights of hundreds of girls and boys by closing its eyes to the plurality of family models that are present in our country," she concluded.
    Opposition +Europe Secretary Riccardo Magi expressed similar sentiments.
    "Great news for families, children and rights in Italy. Bad news instead for Meloni, Salvini and various other homophobes," he said.
    "But a court decision is not enough, we cannot leave to judges the fate of people who want to have a family: we need a law to bridge this gap with the rest of Europe, where egalitarian marriages are now the law everywhere.
    "Italy continues to lag behind on rights and is a black spot in the western world," added Magi.
    "I am a father and a grandfather, on top of being mayor, and for me it is impossible to imagine there being A-leauge and B-league children," said Padua's independent centre-left mayor Sergio Giordani, whose administration supported the families in their legal battle.
    "(There has been) No clash with the public prosecutor's office, which I thank," he added.
    "Now I hope that parliament will urgently take note of the fact that there is a serious legal vacuum and legislate to protect these families," he continued.
    "It is a matter of love, common sense and rights for these minors who would otherwise be exposed to unacceptable discrimination," concluded Giordani. (ANSA).