The Lazio regional administrative
court (TAR) ruled in favor of gay plaintiffs Monday that only
civil courts, not prefects, can annul the transcription in Italy
of gay marriages contracted abroad.
The plaintiffs had appealed the annulment of their marriage
transcriptions by the Rome prefect on orders of Interior
Minister Angelino Alfano.
This was the latest move in Italy's contentious gay
marriage debate after mayors in Bologna, Florence, Reggio
Emilia, Rome, Milan, Trieste and Udine defied Alfano and
transcribed gay marriages.
The mayors, including Rome's Ignazio Marino, have created
special registries for these unions and have proceeded to
officially transcribe them.
Marino said in October that the city's legal department was
considering whether to take the issue to the European Court of
Human Rights.
Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapia said on Facebook in February
that he will "oppose...a discriminatory decision" to cancel the
city's registry of gay marriages contracted abroad.
That ruling came from the city's prefect, Francesco Paolo
Tronca.
Last month, Premier Matteo Renzi's ruling Democratic Party
(PD) vowed to set up a work group to frame a law governing civil
unions in Italy after a meeting with LGBT groups in Rome.
LGBT rights groups announced they are planning a mass
wedding celebration in Rome for 100 couples in May.
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