bjbj"9"9 JEFFREY BROWN: Finally tonight, the effort to legalize gay marriage in Italy has
been met with opposition, specifically from the Vatican, but a recent Supreme Court ruling
has given supporters hope.
Fabiana Formica reports for our partner GlobalPost.
FABIANA FORMICA, GlobalPost: Mario Ottocento and Antonio Garullo have been married for
10 years, but in Italy they are legally strangers.
After Holland became the first country in the world to allow same-sex marriage, Mario
and Antonio became the first Italian couple to tie the knot.
ANTONIO GARULLO, married to Mario Ottocento (through translator): It's like looking at
the stallion, and something extraordinary goes by and you want to grab it.
It was all very instinctive, incredible and beautiful.
Even pronouncing the word marriage, get married for a gay couple was incredible at the time.
FABIANA FORMICA: But since that day, the two artists have fought to get their marriage
legally recognized in their home country.
In Italy, same-sex marriage is not legally recognized and there is no legislation on
matters concerning civil unions.
But, recently Mario and Antonio made history when the Supreme Court in Rome pronounced
an unexpected decision.
ANTONIO GARULLO (through translator): Italy's Supreme Court declared that our marriage is
existent, valid, not against the public order, but that it cannot officially be registered.
It declared we are a family.
And that is what made the Catholic elite -- and not only them -- very angry.
It states that a gay couple or same-sex couple is family, just like a married heterosexual
couple, which is an extraordinary and revolutionary principle for Italy.
FABIANA FORMICA: The court ruled they have rights equal to those of married couples,
but that their wedding is not legal because there's no law on the issue.
Without a law, same-sex partners in Italy cannot share property, inherit pensions, receive
death benefits or make other important decisions concerning death or illness.
The decision has sparked a discussion that reaches far beyond their family and friends
in a country where the Vatican is still a powerful force.
MAN (through translator): I think marriage is exclusively made for a man and a woman,
not for people of the same sex.
WOMAN (through translator): Yes and no.
WOMAN (through translator): Gays are like all others, so marriage should be for heterosexuals
or homosexuals.
FABIANA FORMICA: According to a recent poll, 44 percent of Italians are in favor of gay
marriage, and 63 percent agree that gay couples who live together should have the same legal
rights as married couples.
But Mario and Antonio say they have experienced just how quickly opinions can change.
They live in Latina, a town near Rome built by Mussolini in the 1930s and renowned for
its deeply fascist roots.
Yet despite their conservative surroundings and the town's right-wing political majority,
they say they haven't felt any discrimination here.
MARIO OTTOCENTO, Married to Antonio Garullo,(through translator): After we got married, when we
came back to Latina, we could have found broken windows, writings on the walls or anything
against us, but we found things to be normal.
The mood was very serene and calm.
Nothing had changed.
FABIANA FORMICA: Where staunch Catholics may grimace at the idea of marriage or adoption
for gay couples, back in Latina, Mario's mother says she doesn't see any conflict with her
faith: MOTHER OF MARIO OTTOCENTO (through translator): Same-sex partners in Italy cannot
share property, inherit pensions, receive death benefits or make other important decisions
concerning death or illness.
ANTONIO GARULLO (through translator): We are the same as everyone else, so I hope that
soon we Italians will have a law that makes us feel like everyone else.
FABIANA FORMICA: Until then, Mario and Antonio say they plan to use the court decision to
fight for those rights one at a time.
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City urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags place JEFFREY BROWN: Finally tonight, the
effort to legalize gay marriage in Italy has been met with opposition, specifically from
the Vatican, but a recent Supreme Court ruling has given supporters hope Normal Microsoft
Office Word JEFFREY BROWN: Finally tonight, the effort to legalize gay marriage in Italy
has been met with opposition, specifically from the Vatican, but a recent Supreme Court
ruling has given supporters hope Title Microsoft Office Word Document MSWordDoc Word.Document.8