Letters to the Editor
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A right to name?
Velora, I might be a nontraditionalist who wants to walk around town without pants, but that doesn't mean that anti-nudity laws are "wrong." Saying that you think people should have the right to name their children whatever the heck they want doesn't mean that they have that right. Italy uses a certain system. The recordkeeping that they use is based on that system. There is a big difference between "now you have the choice of giving the child the mother's last name" and "now you can give the child whatever last name you want."
As for the other issues you raise, the solution is not necessarily to get rid of all naming laws. I'm sure the Italians can find a way to name children resulting from sperm donation without eliminating all naming laws. And if they feel strongly enough about the way their naming system works, why should African immigrants who have obtained Italian citizenship be permitted to name their children using a different scheme? There are some countries that require people obtaining citizenship to change their names to fit the existing scheme because it is important to those countries. You are going to have to articulate your position a lot better than simply it's "not the government's business."
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Okay Then
I see you are one of those people who doesn't mind when the government wants to intervene on personal decisions.
I believe that the government shouldn't impede private choice unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Naming laws might make things a little easier for the government, but that's not a very good reason to restrict people's rights (I know George Bush disagrees with me on that point).
You're free to think what you want, but you're not in charge of Italy and neither am I, so think we've come to an impasse on this pressing issue.
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Retraction
"One of those people" is unnecessarily provocative language. I take that back.