Tomorrow, April 9th, the first hearing will open at the Rome Court regarding the serious homophobic attack suffered by the Gay Center and its founder Fabrizio Marrazzo in May 2024. He was insulted and physically attacked in Testaccio by two twenty-year-olds after he scolded them for urinating on our association's Rainbow Wall.
The attackers chased him and threatened him, stopping only when Marrazzo filmed the license plate.
It wasn't an "episode." It was violence: homophobic insults, threats, a chase, a physical assault. An attack on a person and what they represent.
This is why the Gay Center will join the civil action. Because it doesn't just concern one person, it concerns all of us. It concerns a community affected by its symbols, its spaces, its dignity.
What happened is not an isolated incident. It's a sign of a climate that continues to breed violence and discrimination: for this reason, we also express our full solidarity with the Gender X association in Torpignattara, which has been subjected to homophobic threats and insults, with phrases like "don't come out or we'll set you on fire." This isn't the first time this has happened. It's a serious sign that cannot be ignored.
A clear response, including legislative action, is needed to combat hate crimes, which is why we will be filing a new complaint in the coming days regarding yet another attack on the Rainbow Wall, a symbol of our community.
We will continue to defend our spaces, our symbols, and above all, our people. With determination. With responsibility. With all the tools at our disposal.