Agenda

International Hot Spot of the Month ÔÇô┬áItaly
Sign-on Letter content:

Sergio Mattarella
President of the Republic of Italy
Palazzo del Quirinale
00187 Roma, Italy

Laura Boldrini
President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Palazzo Montecitorio
00186 Roma, Italy

Presidents Mattarella and Boldrini:

The Secular Policy Institute encourages ItalyÔÇÖs Chamber of Deputies to pass the Civil Union bill (131-71) recently passed by the Senate of the Republic to expedite at least a bare minimum of legal protection for same-sex couples. This bill is to recognize the spousal relationships of same-sex couples.

In Italy, same-sex spouses lack the rights that their heterosexual counterparts receive. Since 1986, there has been ongoing discussion about the development and implementation of some form of spousal recognition for gay and lesbian couples with certain municipal districts offering limited recognition. In 2012 the Court of Cassation determined that for marriage, same-sex couples were ÔÇ£non-configurable,ÔÇØ yet,┬áthree years later┬áthe Court determined that the inviolable rights provision of Article 2 of the Italian Constitution demanded legal protection for same-sex couples. This is further advanced by the Constitution. Under Article 3, all Italian citizens have equality and dignity before the law where, ÔÇ£It is the duty of the Republic to remove those obstacles of an economic or social nature which constrain the freedom and equality of citizens, thereby impeding the full development of the human personÔÇØ.

The European Court of Human Rights found that the human rights as Europeans of several Italian same-sex couples were violated by lacking the legal protection that spousal recognition provides (Oliari and Others v. Italy 

[2015]). The ECHR found that by not extending legal relationship-recognition eligibility to same-sex couples, Italy had committed a human rights violation, and awarded financial damages to its victims. While recognizing the ÔÇ£hesitationÔÇØ of a handful of EU member states, the┬áOliari┬áCourt wrote: ÔÇ£Since there is no explicit reference to ÔÇÿmen and womenÔÇÖ as the case is in other human rights instruments, it may be argued that there is no obstacle to recognize same-sex relationships in the context of marriage.ÔÇØ

Article 7 of the Italian Constitution declares an official separation of Church and State. In its call to ÔÇ£establish civil unions between persons of the same-sex mutual obligation of fidelity and moral and material association,ÔÇØ and its alteration of the language of Italian marriage laws referring to spouses to include ÔÇ£or civil union between persons of the same sex;ÔÇØ this bill is the closest attempt Italy has made to rectifying these detrimental human rights violations.

The Secular Policy Institute is committed to protecting the equality and dignity of persons through a global standard of gender neutrality in marriage. We call on the Chamber of Deputies to expedite the ratification of civil unions for same-sex couples, thus establishing this act as an important first step toward full civil and social equality for gay and lesbian citizens and persons within the Republic.

Sincerely,
Edwina Rogers
Secular Policy Institute
401 Ninth St., NW, Suite 640
Washington, DC 20004
edwina@secularpolicyinstitute.net
(202) 430-1888

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Our ten articles are written by fellows from seven countries representing diverse points of view.  Yet each is committed to a rational, evidence-based analysis of a timely topic that can inform effective public policy.  The first in a series of Guides, the World Future Guide 2016 provides critical secular insights into timely topics of international import in the hopes of guiding more informed public opinion and policy-making in our increasingly secular world.

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III ÔÇô┬áFellowsÔÇÖ Corner
(Madeline Schussel, Policy Director, madeline@secularpolicyinstitute.net)

Author and philosopher AC Grayling was recently interviewed by Australian Broadcasting Corporation about his familyÔÇÖs move in 1968 from Africa to the UK, and its subsequent impact on his personal development.

Marty Klein recently wrote an article in Psychology Today analyzing the debate of whether pornography demeans women, and the division of power in sexual relationships.

Elham Manea, of Yemeni and Swiss dual nationalities, is a political scientist, a writer, and a human rights activist. She works as an associate professor of politics in Zurich University and as a consultant for Swiss government agencies and international human rights organizations. Along with other Middle Eastern activists, she was a signatory to a recent letter written to President Obama to ÔÇ£put human rights firstÔÇØ during his upcoming visit to the Middle East.

John McWhorter contributed to an article about free speech on college campuses, especially the recent rise in debates about racism and marginalized groups.

Taslima Nasrin lauded Kerala High Court Judge Justice B Kamal Pasha for asking: ÔÇ£Why Muslim women canÔÇÖt have many husbands when men enjoyed the same privilege?ÔÇØ. The question reflects laws under Islamic states, which continues to be criticized as heavily biased against women.

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V ÔÇô┬áPublic Policy Update

• Supporting Transgender Acceptance
• Representative Mike HondaÔÇÖs (D-CA) resolution ÔÇ£Expressing Support for Supporting Transgender AcceptanceÔÇØ brings awareness of the millions of fellow Americans who are marginalized and endangered living under a system that does not recognize the full range of human identities. Awareness such as this and support for our fellow Americans can help to end generations of pain and suffering one day.

• Georgia Religious Freedom Bill Veto
• On Monday, March 28, Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia announced that he will veto the stateÔÇÖs controversial ÔÇ£religious libertyÔÇØ bill that would have allowed faith-based organizations to deny services to those who violate their ÔÇ£sincerely held religious beliefsÔÇØ, as well as fire employees who did not comply with these beliefs. The bill had garnered much criticism from gay rights groups, pressure to not become law from major businesses, and support from religious conservatives. Governor DealÔÇÖs commitment to acknowledging the inequality and discrimination that GeorgiaÔÇÖs LGBT community faces is laudable.

• Texas Reproductive Freedom
• TexasÔÇÖs HB2, a law which imposes medically unnecessary requirements on abortion providers and clinics, could shut down more than 75 percent of all womenÔÇÖs health clinics providing abortion services in the second-most populous state in the country. This would be a grave threat to womenÔÇÖs right to choice for the well-being of their own bodies.

ÔùÅChecking in on the UN

• Strict financial accountability crucial to stop treating education as a commodity in Chile
• Business and human rights in Asia ÔÇô First UN regional forum, 19-20 April 2016
• Moldova: A time of challenges and opportunities, says senior Human Rights Official
• UN rights chief expresses serious concerns over EU-Turkey agreement

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