Italy: Gay Couple on Hunger Strike for Gay Marriage

One night last September, Francesco Zanardi walked toward the back of a gay nightclub on the Greek island of Mykonos. Before he reached his moped, four men came from behind, pulled him to the ground and beat him unconscious. The next day Zanardi awoke in the ER wing of a Mykonos clinic with severe internal bleeding and an unshakeable anxiety. Had he died, his young partner would have been left without the home they share in Italy and all legal rights spouses are granted under Italian law. It was then that Zanardi decided to stage a hunger strike to advocate gay marriage, and publicize it online. Now he and his 22-year-old partner, Manuel Incorvaia, are webcasting their own campaign, streaming it live, 24-hours a day, on www.glbt-tv.it. “We came to a point where we wanted to protect each other,” said Zanardi, 39, who began fasting on Jan. 4 and is now living off just three cappuccinos a day. “This is not my first relationship, but for the first time I feel the need to protect my partner,” he said. Full Story from The Global Post

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