Silvio does it again

We read:

"Silvio Berlusconi's attempt to laugh off a sex scandal with a homophobic joke has backfired, causing widespread offence amid a deepening political crisis.

“I'm always working flat out and sometimes I look at beautiful women ... It's better to be passionate about beautiful women than to be gay,” Mr Berlusconi said in a speech at the opening of a motorcycle show in Milan.

Prosecutors have opened an inquiry into allegations by a girl that she was paid to attend raunchy parties hosted by the prime minister at his villa last year when she was under 18, Italian newspapers reported in recent days.

But his “gay” comment has stirred up more controversy, with Donatella Ferranti, a leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, saying it was “not just homophobic but also a miserable attempt to distract attention away from the latest scandal involving an underage girl”.

The gay rights group Arcigay said that Mr Berlusconi's remarks were “gratuitous and vulgar and offensive not just to homosexuals but also to women.”

Former anti-corruption judge Antonio Di Pietro, who heads the Italy of Values opposition party, said Mr Berlusconi “still lives in the Stone Age”.

Source

Not exactly the stone age. Homosexuality was illegal in most places just a few decades ago.