Italian town to recognize a same-sex marriage

Fausto Schermi and Edwin Van Dijck - Mayor Stefano Aguzzi

The Mayor of the town of Fano (Marche) said he is ready to register a marriage of a gay couple performed in The Netherlands.












On May 30 the marriage of Fausto Schermi and Edwin Van Dijck will be registered in the Registro dello Stato Civile (Civil Registry). According to the Italian laws the mayor is the registrar so Stefano Aguzzi (center-right), the Mayor of Fano, will be the one who will register the marriage of the couple on Friday. This will also be the last act of Aguzzi as the mayor of Fano.

Schermi and Van Dijck got married in The Netherlands in 2008. After the order of the Civil Court of Grosseto to recognize a gay marriage performed in New York City, Fausto and Edwin asked Mayor Aguzzi to register their marriage. They did it on May 17, the IDAHOT, with a march through the streets of Fano. (here: photos). 

No Mayor has done such a thing yet. It will be the first time. In April the Civil Court of Grosseto ordered the recognition of a marriage of two men and then the Comune of Grosseto complied with the order. In addition the Council of Latina asked the Ministry of Interior how to deal with the issue. 

In all of these occasions the mayors were already ready to register a same-sex marriage, but not the Parliament to recognize neither civil union nor minimal rights and duties. We should also take in account that the Mayor of Fano belongs to the center-right political mainstream and the Mayor of Latina belongs to a national far-right party (Fratelli d'Italia, Brothers of Italy). Something has changed in these days. Nothing in the benches of the most secular Italian legislature of ever.