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Gay
Couple Arrested
For
Kissing At Rome's Coliseum
by
365Gay.com from the Web, July 28, 2007
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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.
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