ROME -- Gianni and Piero, partners for years but “only as friends,” have decided to join in civil union next Saturday in Schio in the province of Vicenza, despite confirming that they are in fact “not gay.”

 The pair have explained that their partnership is one of pure convenience, convinced that a civil union will allow them to access rights which they would otherwise be refused and will resolve practical issues they currently face.

 The couple had wanted a ‘quick and easy’ ceremony, both living near Schio, despite the fact that the mayor of the town is against homosexual union. Nevertheless, their choice does not shock Monica Cirinna, so-called ‘mother’ of civil union law, who claimed, “A woman too can marry a man who she does not love, purely for convenience.”

 Aurelio Mancuso on the other hand, leader of the Italian homosexual community, defines the two friends as “crafty rogues,” commenting, “I think that in any case the law allows the freedom for citizens to do so (join in civil union).”

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