Draw a family, a call for equal rights

“Draw a family” is the title of the video created by Famiglie Arcobaleno, CondividiLove and Arcigay, with the support of ILGA Europe. It shows us Christmas for kids raised with two mothers or two fathers is no different than Christmas for a “traditional family”: setting up the tree, unwrapping the gifts, eating grandma’s biscuits… and so much happiness.

The creators of the video have brought together a group of kids coming from very diverse types of families and asked them to make a drawing of their Christmas. Their drawings were then shown to random people in the streets. The result? None of the people in the streets, while commenting the drawings, ever expressed rejection or felt disturbed, because “it is a family nonetheless”.

This video has been published on a website designed to provide practical instruments to clarify on the most popular misconceptions on same-sex couples and their families. The goal is to raise awareness on the bill put forward in the Italian Senate on civil unions. The parliamentary debate on this bill will take place starting January 26th 2016.

Marilena Grassadonia, president of Famiglie Arcobaleno, describes the bill as follows:

“This bill does not recognize full equality between homosexual and heterosexual couples, but it represents a first step towards the final goal of equal marriage”.

One of the main points of debate in the civil unions bill (which is constantly under attack and risks the reduction of its breadth), is the “stepchild adoption”, a measure allowing gay and lesbian couples with children to provide stability to their family through the recognition of the child by the non-biological parent.

In a statement, Gabriele Piazzoni, national secretary of Arcigay, says:

“We have lost sight of the core of the stepchild adoption issue, which is full recognition of little boys and girls and their family in the eyes of the law. This is why we developed the idea of letting the kids themselves speak out, so we could call on citizens to have a first-hand experience with the kids’ loved ones, their dreams and the representations of their families.

What better way to wish happy holidays to every man and woman, boy and girl, hoping that the new year will be happier and fair to everyone?”