Italy Senate OKs civil unions, but LGBT groups are unhappy

Renzi has made it a personal mission to bring his country into alignment with the rest of Western Europe-Italy is the only major country without any legal recognition or protections for same-sex couples, let alone marriage equality.

Yet, stripping the bill of the parental rights drew strong criticism on the cabinet and Renzi’s PD by gay rights advocates and those sectors of Italy’s society who supported the original version of the law.

The amended bill was apparently enough to satisfy the rebels – passing through the country’s Senate on a 173-71 vote, after the compromise deal was reached. But gay and lesbian groups denounced the watered-down legislation as a betrayal because Renzi’s Democratic Party sacrificed a provision to allow gay adoption in order to ensure passage.

While the bill will extend rights to LGBT Italians, the debate over the legislation has also exposed the enduring influence of the Catholic church over Italian politics.

After being stalled in parliament for years, the legislation was spurred on after the European Court of Human Rights condemned Italy last year for discriminating against gays.

Despite pressure from the Roman Catholic Church, Mr, Renzi, 41, has persisted in keeping civil union legislation in the forefront as one of the key modernisation reforms he promised when he took office two years ago.

The bill gives homosexual and heterosexual couples the right to receive a deceased partner’s pension, the right to take a partner’s name, inheritance rights and next-of-kin rights in medical emergencies – all allowed only in marriage so far.

Marilena Grassadonia of Rainbow Families said: “We are outraged, angry, disappointed”. The amendment has caused fierce debate in the historically Catholic nation, and it still needs to pass the lower house of Parliament before it becomes law.

“Thanks to this text, the magistrates can still interpret the law on adoptions in the interest of the child to have a stable and continual relationship” with the non-biological partner, said Anna Finocchiaro, the head of the Democrats in the Senate.

Opponents to the provision said the stepchild adoption would have encouraged same-sex couples to resort to surrogacy, which is when a woman outside the couple gives birth to a child for them.

To keep left-wing supporters in his own party from abandoning the bill, Renzi turned the vote into a confidence vote, meaning a defeat would have forced the government to resign.