Italy joins rest of EU in recognizing gay unions despite church objections

Italy joined the rest of Europe on Wednesday in giving some legal rights to gay couples after a yearslong battle and opposition from the Catholic Church to anything that smacked of authorizing gay marriage.

The lower Chamber of Deputies voted 372-51 with 99 abstentions to approve legislation already passed in February by the Senate.

Gay rights activists hailed the vote as historic, given that Italy was the last of the European Union's 28 nations to grant legal recognition to civil unions. But they voiced disappointment that the government had sacrificed a provision to allow gay adoption to ensure passage.