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Gay Italian labelled as disabled wins discrimination case against gov't

Mon Jul 14, 1:59 PM

By Marta Falconi, The Associated Press

ROME - The Italian government was ordered to pay $160,000 to a gay man who received a driver's licence for the disabled after he volunteered information on his sexual orientation to military authorities, he said Monday.

Danilo Giuffrida, 27, said he told officials about his homosexuality when he took a physical after being called up in 2000 for Italy's mandatory year of military service, which has since been abolished.

Giuffrida told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his hometown, Catania, that he had hoped to avoid service and keep working to help support his family.

Giuffrida was disqualified for psychological reasons.

"It's the old assumption that if one is homosexual then he is also psychologically disturbed," said Aurelio Mancuso, president the main Italian gay rights group, Arcigay.

Giuffrida's lawyer, Giuseppe Lipera, said a military official sent his client's paperwork to motor-vehicle officials in Catania, who changed his standard driver's licence to one for the disabled.

Giuffrida said the disabled licence must be renewed every year instead of every 10 years, as is the case for standard licences.

"Some overzealous officer took upon himself the task of sending the paperwork" to the motor vehicle office, Lipera said. "Evidently, they thought that his sexual preferences were a mental disorder."

A judge in Catania, Sicily, ordered the transport and defence ministries to pay damages to Giuffrida in a ruling handed down last week. The transport ministry had no immediate comment on Monday, while defence officials said they had requested information on the case from military authorities in Catania.

Arcigay praised the court ruling and said it hoped the case would raise awareness about discrimination.

"In Italy, we still need to understand that differences among people make a country richer, not poorer," Giuffrida said. He did not say if his standard licence had been restored.

He said that he will use some of the money to buy a car.