Rights, but no marriage

Rights, but no marriage

Italy’s highest civil court this month gave gay couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples, but upheld a ban on same-sex marriage.

The decision also disqualified overseas gay marriages from being recognised in Italy.

Gay rights groups welcomed the court’s decision which found homosexuals have the right to “a family life” and, “in specific situations,” to “be treated the same as couples married by law”.

The court was ruling on the case of a gay couple who married in the Netherlands in 2002 and asked to register their marriage in Italy, but had been refused by a local council.

The court dismissed their appeal against the council’s decision.

The court said it had opened the way for homosexuals to have the same rights as married people because, while gay marriage is illegal in Italy, gay rights in Europe have evolved considerably.

Arcigay president Paul Patane said the ruling was another important step on the road to more effective protections for gay couples.

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