An ad campaign to counter discrimination against gays has stirred up passions in Italy, using a poster that shows a newborn with the word "homosexual" written on his wristband.

"Sexual orientation is not a choice," reads the slogan on the poster that was going up all across the central-northern Tuscany region and was published in national newspapers Wednesday.

"Using newborns to make people believe that homosexual impulses are an innate characteristic is dishonest and a disgrace," said Christian Democratic lawmaker Luca Volonte.

Gay philosopher Gianni Vattimo said the ad was in "bad taste" and that the slogan was "only partly true."

Italy's main gay rights association ArciGay, for its part, praised the initiative, saying homosexuality is an "unchangeable fact that should be respected."

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