Italian Politician calls for "ethnic cleansing" of Gays

Hundreds of Italians gathered in the northern city of Trevisio to protest comments made by the deputy mayor, Giancarlo Gentilini.

The right-wing Gentilini told a local station that a park in town was being used by gays as a cruising area and that to stop it he would "immediately give orders to my forces so that they can carry out an ethnic cleansing of faggots" in the region. He continued: "The faggots must go to other [places] where they are welcome. Here in Treviso there is no chance for faggots or the like."

The portestors, a majority of whom were not gay, wore pink triangles or yellow stars, reminicint of patches that gay men and jews had to wear in Italy and elsewhere during the Holocaust. They called for his resignation. His own party is distancing itself from both Gentilini and his remarks.

Local and federal prosecutors are examining the videotape of the interview to see if any laws against promoting hatred were broken in the exchange. There was no data I could find (not speaking Italian) on the number of arrests for lewdness that have been recently made in the park.