Italian Senate to Debate Same-Sex Unions




The Italian Senate will debate today on whether or not to introduce same-sex unions. 

Italy offers no legal rights to LGBTI couples. 

 And it’s something of an embarrassment for a Government that promised in 2014 to modernise Italian society. 

 In 2015, Italy was criticised by the European Court of Human Rights for a lack of inclusive and appropriate same-sex laws.

 It's the last major Western European power to offer civil unions to same-sex couples.

Denmark was the first country to introduce same-sex unions in 1989. Even in Northern Ireland, where equal marriage remains unrecognised, there's been a decade of civil partnerships.







Last weekend, thousands of LGBTI supporters gathered in the main squares of Rome, Palermo, Milan, Florence and Naples holding alarm clocks to symbolise the need for Italy to “wake up”.

Despite the support, however, there is no guarantee that the ruling left party, led by Matteo Renzi, will gain enough support to pass the legislation.

The Upper Chamber of the Italian Senate is due to vote by secret ballot, and it could be a close call either way.

 If same-sex couples are allowed to enter into civil unions (and at a future time perhaps marriage), then it's likely to follow that same-sex couples will want the law to change allowing them to adopt children and use surrogacy. It is this progression that seems to be most disturbing for opponents to same-sex unions. 

Earlier this week, Italian Interior Minister, Angelino Alfano, described surrogacy as being ‘like a sex crime’, and that women hiring out their wombs for rent, and couples who use the services of a surrogate mother, should be imprisoned. 

It's likely to be, however, another battle for another time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. 

We'll keep you updated on what the results of the vote are. 







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