Bari mayor to disobey govt over same-sex-parent's kids

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 31 - Bari Mayor Antonio Decaro, the head of Italy's association of local authorities (ANCI), said Friday that he was set to disobey central government of the issue of recording same-sex-parent children in the civic register.
    Milan was recently forced to stop a procedure it had used to register both members of a same-sex couple as the parents of a child after the prefect's department warned it was illegal following consultations with the interior ministry.
    The procedure was based on the transcription into the Milan civil register of foreign birth certificates of children conceived by surrogacy, which is illegal in Italy, or assisted fertility, which is only allowed for heterosexual couples here.
    "The issue of transcriptions is an issue of children's rights," Decaro told Rai television.
    "I have always carried out these transcriptions because I am not interested in where the child was born or how.
    "If they live in my city, I am interested in how that child lives, they must have the same rights as other children.
    "So the transcription of (the birth certificates of) same-sex-parents' children allows the child to have the same rights.
    "I believe it is a question of rights and rights must be ensured for everyone.
    "There cannot be first and second tier children in the municipalities.
    "If it is necessary to disobey, we will and we'll proceed with the transcriptions". (ANSA).