The new law grants same-sex couples many of the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Partners in a civil union can apply for public housing as couples. (The law also makes this right available to unmarried heterosexual couples.) They can also inherit their partners’ pensions. Property inheritance rules will be the same as for married couples. For gay couples, Italy has finally ceased to be a glaring exception to the rest of Europe,
The bill, which was championed by Matteo Renzi, Italy’s prime minister, has been a long time in the making. Gay-rights activists have been pushing for same-sex marriage in Italy for three decades; bills have been proposed in the past but never adopted. Last year the European Court of Human Rights ruled that by not recognising same-sex unions Italy violated the right to respect for private and family life.
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