The Lombardy regional council on
Tuesday rejected a motion to delegate a member to participate as
its formal representative in the Milan Pride 2023 event on June
24.
The centre-right council rejected the motion with 43 votes
against and 23 in favour.
The office of the presidency of the council denied sponsorship
to the event on May 9.
The development comes against the backdrop of a row between the
Lazio regional government and the organisers of Rome Pride 2023
over alleged manipulation of the agenda for Saturday's event to
lobby in favour of surrogacy.
Lazio Governor Francesco Rocca on Monday withdrew the region's
sponsorship of the popular event, accusing organizers of
"instrumentalising" it to promote what is a crime in Italy and
the right calls "wombs for rent".
However, he later said Lazio's sponsorship would be reinstated
on condition that the organizers apologised.
"Clearly there will be no apology for Rocca's claims by Roma
Pride. No one manipulated anyone," Mario Colamarino, president
of the Mario Mieli gay association and spokesperson for Roma
Pride, told ANSA.
He added that Roma Pride's platform, including its favourable
stance on surrogacy, which is used by many Italian same-sex
couples outside Italy, has been known for years.
Premier Giorgia Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI)
party, of which Rocca is a member, wants to make surrogacy a
'universal crime', meaning Italians resorting to it abroad will
be prosecuted in Italy.
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