All the false and dangerous things said in the Senate in the hearings on the Zan bill

In the meetings to analyze the bill against homolesbobitransphobia, misogyny and abilities, hoaxes and fake news were spread, even very dangerous

Daniel Leal-Olivas / PA Wire Finding the political square of the bill of Zan law - which wants to extend the norm on hate crimes to homolesbobitransphobia, misogyny and abilities - seems increasingly complex. If the news episodes continue to inflame the public debate (from the homosexual couple attacked in Palermo to the posters against the Pro Vita association that appeared in Como), the political balance remains unchanged and increasingly unstable. In this context, the hearings in the Senate have begun which, according to the promoters of the bill, are slowing down the scheduling of the law, with the aim of drowning it.

The state of play

After the approval in the Chamber, the Zan bill (from the surname of the first signatory, the parliamentarian of the Democratic Party Alessandro Zan) is in the Justice Committee of the Senate, a fundamental step to then arrive at its discussion in the classroom and, therefore, to the its final approval. Part of the majority (primarily the League), however, presented a parallel bill, the Ronzulli-Salvini, with contents opposite to the first bill. The president of the commission, the Northern League player Andrea Ostellari, decided, without passing a vote, to combine the Ronzulli-Salvini bill with the Zan bill. This involves discussions and hearings for both bills and therefore a considerable lengthening of the time. Not only that, of the 255 auditions proposed, Ostellari himself first admitted 170, to then arrive at the final number of 70.

Hearings and audits

The hearings are nothing more than consultations with experts and associations before entering into the merits of the law. Or at least they should be. Most of the requested hearings come from exponents opposed to the bill or without any experience or authority to discuss issues related to discrimination against women, disabled people and the LGBTQ + community. On May 27, June 3 and June 8 there were the first interventions, where fake news, tendentious and dangerous statements were not lacking, dismantled one by one below.

"There is not a void to fill"

As the journalist Simone Alliva, attentive chronicler of the hearings on the Zan bill, tells us on Twitter, Sister Anna Monia Alfieri of the National Council of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) opens up which argues that "there is no legislation to fill" and that the Zan bill "limits freedom of expression, thought and education". Not only that, Alfieri "as a religious" would find it hard to accept a law that protects her.

Going in order, the void to be filled does exist. In Italy, unlike many European states, there is no law against homotransphobia. Already in 2010, the Council of Ministers of the European Union had recommended legislative measures to combat hate crimes due to both sexual orientation and gender identity.

Furthermore, we must not forget that the concept of gender identity is also contained in the Istanbul convention on violence against women ratified by the Italian Parliament in 2013. In that treaty, which received the green light of the Chamber and Senate, the protection of victims from discrimination on basis, among other things, of sex and gender identity.

Finally, the Zan bill does not limit freedom of expression but only punishes hate speech for these categories, that is, it extends the crime to these categories as well categories. In fact, contrary to what Alfieri claims, the Mancino-Reale law of 1993 also protects against religious hatred. A protection that, obviously, Sister Anna Alfieri finds it hard to accept.

"Pedophilia is a sexual orientation"

According to the former magistrate Carlo Nordio, another auditor, "the orientation sexual is an ambiguous definition "as" pedophilia is also a sexual orientation ". A false and dangerous statement. On the psychological front, pedophilia is considered a mental disorder and not a sexual orientation. On the legal front, in the Italian legal system it is a crime punishable with a sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison. The Zan bill, of course, does not prohibit anyone from speaking out against pedophilia, with which he has nothing to do.

"The homosexual lifestyle is not sustainable"

In his hearing against the bill Zan Alberto Contri, professor of social communication at the IULM University, declared that the attention of companies to the issue of inclusion is "sacrosanct", but not when it becomes "a promotion of a lifestyle incompatible with the sustainable development which today is considered a priority “. First of all we would ask ourselves what is the connection of all this with the Zan bill: if you want to respect the environment, your lifestyle is essential, with behaviors that individuals can adopt regardless of their sexual orientation.

"Gender in schools"

The lawyer Daniela Bianchini in her hearing cites a "circular of the Miur (Ministry of Education, University and Research, ed) of 2005" which prohibits "teaching theories of gender in schools ". The indoctrination of gender theories is one of the hoaxes most relaunched by opponents of the Zan bill.

The bill, it is worth specifying once again, says something else. In Articles 7 to 10, it has positive indications, that is actions aimed at anti-discrimination interventions in the areas of education and instruction, work, safety and prisons. A national strategy is envisaged, activated by the National Office against Racial Discrimination (Unar) of the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Article 7, for example, establishes the date of May 17 as the National Day against homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia and transphobia (it already is internationally), to promote the culture of respect and inclusion and fighting prejudice and violence.

But also the story of the circular cited by Bianchini is different from how the lawyer told it. The document is actually from 2015. And we read that "according to the minister, whoever talks about gender theories in reference to the law on the Good School commits a cultural scam and the ministry is ready to protect itself with the appropriate tools". In short, a warning to spread the gender hoax in schools.

"Homosexuality has psychological causes"

In the Senate the writer Giorgio Ponte, homosexual, said he was "happy not to have the same rights as everyone else", as " his condition has psychological causes “. An incorrect statement: homosexuality is a natural variant of human behavior, as defined by the World Health Organization, which on May 17, 1990 deleted it from the list of mental illnesses.

“Gender identity is dangerous”

Among those heard there is also a fringe of the feminist movement against the law for several reasons. First of all, for the reference to gender identity in the Zan bill. "We are going to import a product, the gender self-certification, which has already expired in many places," said an exponent of this minority Marina Terragni. "A choice was made to adopt the term 'gender identity', instead of 'transsexual identity', to refer to transsexual people. This formulation is the heart of the Zan bill ", echoes Francesca Izzo, representative of the women's association If not now when - Free. "That expression - he continues - introduces and legitimizes an unforeseen profile in our constitutional and legislative system, that is sexual identity on the basis of self-perception and the sole manifestation of the subjective will".

However, the use of gender identity, already in the guidelines of the Ministry of Education against bullying and recognized by the same Istanbul convention, responds to specific needs for the protection of transsexuals, as explained in Valigia Blu. Moreover, as recalled by Simone Alliva in L'Espresso, it is the point that Italia Viva is willing to remove in order to find a mediation with the center-right forces, a downward mediation that would undermine the value of the Zan bill itself.


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