07/30/2007
Two Men Arrested for Kiss Outside Rome's Colisseum
Two gay men who kissed one another in front of Rome's Colisseum early on Sunday were held by police for 40 minutes and then released. The Carabinieri paramilitary police said they were "not just kissing," a claim disputed by the couple, who have been charged with committing lewd acts in public, a charge that carries a maximum two-year jail sentence.
The couple, identified as Roberto L, 27, and Michele M, 28, say they "only shared a gesture of affection after a night out in the gay bars," according to The Australian.
Colonel Alessandro Casarsa explained the police action: "They acted because there was a couple that was committing a lewd act in front of one of the most viewed monuments in Italy. We apply the law to all in the same way, men and women."
Gay activist groups in Rome immediately responded to the arrest. Arcigay, the largest gay rights organization in Rome, hired the couple a lawyer and planned a kiss-in demonstration at the Colisseum on Thursday. Another group, the Mario Mieli Club, held a kiss-in on Sunday night (pictured here).
Italian MP Vladimir Luxuria expressed concern over the incident: "It's worrying that a gesture of affection is considered a crime. It's absurd that two young people who love each other should spend the night in a police station without having done anything obscene."
She said she would ask the government to explain its position in Parliament.
Gay protest to see Colosseum kiss-in [the australian]
Gay men arrested for 'kissing' outside Colosseum [the guardian]
Posted 8:45 AM EST by Andy in Crime, Italy, News, Rome | Permalink
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The Carabinieri, says it all really. Bunch of idots and power crazed right wing nut jobs. Everything they do just ends up making them look like bigger tits than they already are.
Posted by: EvilEuropean | Jul 30, 2007 9:43:33 AM
I can completely understand the need to kiss there. Its, IMHO, the most romantic place on Earth at night.
Posted by: Jersey | Jul 30, 2007 10:37:38 AM
ironic that this hadn't happened earlier (or at least, that it didn't make headlines), considering a pretty popular gay bar sits only a few hundred feet from the colliseum.
Posted by: nickio | Jul 30, 2007 10:47:10 AM
I just love the name of italian MP "Vladimir Luxuria". She sounds pretty fab.
:)
Posted by: James | Jul 30, 2007 11:32:55 AM
I'm not sure what the law is in Italy, but in England, anti-social behavior, including lewd misdemeanors, no longer require a trial for conviction, and the police and fine you on the spot--judge and jury essentially--which sounds like a recipe for the abuse of gay men in situations like this one. In many places the police are automatically assumed to be correct in their testimony, thereby making any defense against lewdness charges impossible.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jul 30, 2007 11:58:38 AM
When I lived in Rome, (late 70's) that was a cruisey part of town for men and women of all persuasions, but the traffic around the Coliseum kept it from being romantic. Mostly, it was a place to get picked up in a car and dropped off. Also, one must take heed of the malaise Daisy Miller contracted there one night...
Posted by: Father Tony | Jul 30, 2007 12:33:19 PM
Father Tony, thats not how you spell malaria. : )
Posted by: Puggleboy | Aug 5, 2007 2:51:11 PM
@Anon:
I think you are wrong there. In France and Germany it's normal that minor offenses are fined directly. But it doesn't mean that you can't have your trial (which has to be paid if lost).
I don't know if this is the same in England with its strange common law system.
Posted by: Chris | Sep 26, 2008 5:31:53 PM