The Rome Court of Appeal has overturned a 2019 decree from the interior ministry that prohibited local authorities from using the gender-neutral term ‘parent’ on children’s identity cards, instead mandating the designation of a ‘mother’ and a ‘father’ for minors.
The Famiglie Arcobaleno association, which represents families with same-sex parents, reported the court’s decision. It comes after Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, who was serving as interior minister at the time, implemented the decree to replace ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’ with traditional parental titles. The gender-neutral terms were purportedly introduced to accommodate families with same-sex parents.
Prosecutor wants birth certificates of same sex parents cancelled
Two women, both mothers of a child, challenged the decree. They sought recognition as the legal parents of their child on the minor’s ID to accurately reflect their family structure recorded in the civil register. Their appeal was successful in the court of first instance, a ruling later affirmed by the court of appeal.
Salvini says it’s excessive political correctness
Salvini criticised the use of the term ‘parent’ on ID cards as an instance of excessive political correctness.
Premier Giorgia Meloni, during her time in opposition, similarly denounced the ‘parent one, parent two’ labelling.
“I am a woman. I am a mother. I am Italian, I am Christian,” Meloni declared emphatically, during her election campaign speeches. Salvini, in response to the appeals court’s decision on Thursday, condemned it as “wrong.” He argued it was “absurd and reprehensible” to cancel the terms ‘mum’ and ‘dad’.
