Bologna, May 30, 2014 – "There's a sense of real change in the decision by Fano's mayor, Stefano Aguzzi, to register the marriage between Fausto Schermi and Elwin Van Dijk, celebrated in the Netherlands, in the civil registry." Flavio Romani, president of Arcigay, expressed satisfaction with the news from the Marche town. "The mayor," Romani continues, "didn't just preach a right, he practiced it. This is a quantum leap for Italian politics, an exemplary choice for all public administrators, especially those who spend countless words advocating for rights, then promptly delegate to others the actions that recognize those same rights. And it's worth noting that in Fano, as in Latina, where the City Council voted to register the law, it is center-right politicians and representatives who are driving this quantum leap, dismantling the ideological stereotype that rights are the flagship issue of only one political party. Instead, while the government led by a center-left prime minister and a progressive-majority Parliament are verging on inaction on these issues, those who engage in politics in contact with the people, regardless of their political affiliation, find it reasonable and right to respond to a recognition that society has already legitimized. It's now up to those who govern us to live up to the signals the country sends out daily in support of the full recognition of LGBTI rights." Attorney Antonio Rotelli, co-President of Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI – Rete Lenford, shares this view: "I hope all Italian mayors follow Fano's example," he says, "because it is their duty to respect the law. The registration of marriages contracted abroad by same-sex couples is not contrary to public order. I urge all couples married abroad to go en masse to request registration at their local municipality, because it is unlawful to deny it." He continues: "Without registration, the right of same-sex couples to move freely as spouses and families within the European Union is jeopardized. The government would do well to remember that Italians are not only European citizens when they have to vote, but that citizenship obliges them to guarantee effective rights and protections to all without discrimination." "We hope this is the path that will finally lead Parliament," concludes Attorney Rotelli, "to approve a law allowing same-sex marriages in Italy as well.".
