By Will Spiva, Events Contributor
This Thursday the Italian Deaf Community of DC rallied at the Italian Embassy to protest the implementation of a new bill that would change the classification of sign language to Linguaggio Mimico Gesturale (LMG). Although there is no direct translation, it roughly means “less than language.” According to the protestors, this legislation would be another step towards the “colonization of deaf people,” and would only serve to further ostracize similarly disabled persons in Italy.
Only an hour after the protest started a representative from the embassy came out and pledged to convey their dissent to the Italian Parliament. Even though they deemed the event a success, Italians in America are still “holding their breath” as to whether the legislation will pass or fail. If you want to show your dissent towards the legislation and your support for the Italian deaf community, sign a petition to stop the change in sign language classification. Italian Nationals should sign this version of the petition.
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