Gay Couple Arrested For Kissing At Rome's Coliseum
Kirsty and I have been thinking about going to Italy next year. Now? Not so much...
Gay Couple Arrested For Kissing At Rome's Coliseum
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 28, 2007 - 9:00 am ET
(Rome) Two gay men have been charged with "lewd conduct" for kissing in front of the Coliseum in Rome.
The pair were rushed into a police car and taken to a police station where they were held for several hours. Eventually they were issued a summons to appear in court and released.
If convicted the pair could be sentenced up to two years in prison.
The incident has sparked a public outcry in Italy.
Italian LGBT civil rights group Arcigay called it an outrage and accused the police of homophobia.
Police deny the accusation, but were unable to provide evidence that any opposite-sex couple had ever been arrested for a similar kiss at the famed tourist spot.
Italy's Health Minister Livia Turco called the arrests a national embarrassment.
Vladimir Luxuria, a Communist politician and Italy's first transsexual lawmaker said she would raise the issue in Parliament.
"It's worrying that a gesture of affection is considered a crime," she told La Repubblica daily. "It's absurd that two young people who love each other should spend the night in a police station without having done anything obscene."
Both Arcigay and Turco have demanded the charges be dropped and that police issue an apology to the two men, aged 28 and 27.
Meanwhile, Arcigay has called for a "national gay kiss-in" at the Coliseum on August 2.
