Italian Senator Mariastella Gelmini voices a moderately conservative approach to LGBT rights

Senator Mariastella Gelmini, representing the Noi Moderati party within Italy’s ruling center-right coalition led by Giorgia Meloni, has outlined a moderately conservative stance on LGBT rights. In an interview with il Giornale on September 3, 2026 , she stated that civil unions for same-sex couples are an established matter and there will be no turning back, but rejected the ideas of same-sex marriage and adoption by such couples.

Gelmini characterized such demands as “excesses of Gay Pride” (eccessi da Gay Pride), noting that this kind of radicalism merely creates a platform for far-right politicians like Roberto Vannacci. According to her, these demands function in Italy similarly to how woke culture in the US contributed to the rise of Trumpism.

At the same time, the senator emphasized her party’s commitment to the traditional family model consisting of a mother, father, and children, calling its defense a societal interest, particularly to overcome Italy’s demographic winter. This statement illustrates the current political balance within the country’s center-right bloc, which accepts the status quo regarding basic rights for homosexual individuals while opposing further legislative changes.