May 11th

05-11-1949 When Charles Baudelaire published Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil) six of his poems on lesbianism were removed by the French government. He, his publisher, and the printer were successfully prosecuted for creating an offense against public morals. On this day, Baudelaire was vindicated, the judgment reversed, and the six banned poems were reinstated in France.

05-11-2016 Italy’s Parliament gives final approval to a bill establishing civil unions for same-sex couples. The bill passed by a vote of 371 – 51, with 99 members abstaining. The Senate had approved it in February. Franco Grillini, the honorary president of LGBT rights group Arcigay, said, “The wall erected mostly by the Vatican against civil rights in this country has fallen, so it is a historically and politically important moment.”