Rainbow flags, flower necklaces and painted faces. In Piazza della Repubblica amid songs and choirs, shortly after 16 pm, the Roma Pride started. The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, was at the head of the procession, behind the yellow banner with the multicolored writing "Queersistence", who sang "Bella ciao" together with the demonstrators. Thousands of people have gathered around the carts since 15 pm. Among these were many political exponents of Pd, M5s, Italia viva, Left Green Alliance and representatives of the CGIL union.
The route of the event was that of previous years: piazza della Repubblica, viale Luigi Einaudi, piazza dei Cinquecento, via Cavour, piazza dell'Esquilino, via Liberiana, piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, via Merulana, largo Brancaccio, via dello Statuto, piazza Vittorio, via Emanuele Filiberto, viale Manzoni, via Labicana, piazza del Colosseo, via dei Fori Imperiali, largo Corrado Ricci and via dei Fori Imperiali with arrival in piazza Madonna di Loreto. Godmothers of the event were the singers Paola and Chiara who performed on the float at the head of the parade. “Viva l'amore per semper”, they said from the stage set up on the van while the crowd danced around to the notes of “Viva l'amor” and “It's raining man”.
As announced, after the controversies of recent days, the Lazio Region has not intervened and has revoked the sponsorship in contrast with the organizers on the theme of gestation for others. According to the former governor of Lazio, Nicola Zingaretti, the choice is a sign that the centre-right coalition is "prisoner of the extremisms that exist in the majority". Zingaretti, currently a deputy for the Democratic Party, observed: “After ten years in which the Lazio Region has always been there, I continue to be there. I take the liberty of saying that the vast majority of Italians and citizens of Lazio are convinced that the inalienable right of a person to be himself cannot be questioned. It's a battle that should belong to everyone." This morning in an open letter to the LGBT community, the president of the Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca, however, made it known: "I have fought a lifetime against all forms of discrimination, for inclusion and respect for rights, in every context and circumstance, even the most delicate and difficult ones. In these days we have touched on sensitive issues that affect the lives of millions of people: I am sincerely sorry if anyone has felt under attack or disrespected. This was never my intent. In my life I have often come close to human suffering, even of those who are persecuted for being homosexual".
Yesterday the mayor Gualtieri transcribed the first birth certificates of the children of same-parent couples, two mothers. And today he recalled in the square: “Rome is in the front row in the battles to recognize everyone's rights. The requests for transcription of the documents arrived yesterday. There are very clear and unambiguous sentences of the Cassation and they say that the transcription of cases like these, which we are talking about heterologous fertilization, are legitimate and dutiful, otherwise it would be discrimination”. Among the exponents of the 5-star movement in the procession, the Capitoline councilor Paolo Ferrara chose to demonstrate his presence with a "provocative gesture" and showing a shot in which he kisses a man. “To those who say that Roma Pride is aimed at promoting illegal behavior, I reply as follows: 'If kissing a man were to mean going to hell, I'm going. So I will be able to boast, among the flames and the damned, that I have contributed to putting the world back on the right track'. A light in the darkest hour,” he said
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