In order to speed up the bill’s passage, Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, called a confidence vote in Italy’s lower house on Wednesday saying it was “unacceptable to have any more delays after years of failed attempts.”
Renzi’s cabinet survived confidence vote with 369 voting in favour of the bill compared to 193 against.
Earlier on Wednesday, knowing that a majority in the confidence vote was almost certain, Renzi declared that it was “a day of celebration for those who finally feel recognized.”
“By calling a confidence vote, we have bound the government’s survival to the civil rights battle,” Renzi added in his Facebook post.
just a perfect day #lovewins #loveislove #unionicivili #cirinnamoreremo pic.twitter.com/OJRIW4b3Yq
— Matilde Giovani (@tildeblonde) May 11, 2016
In the face of concern that civil unions would be too similar to marriage, references to a need for faithfulness were also removed.
“I’m thinking of the children of so many friends,” she said, referring to the bill’s missing stepchild adoption provisions.
Cirinnà said that while the passage of the bill finally recognizes homosexual couples in Italy – there is still some way to go until they enjoy the rights extended to heterosexual ones.
“Now, we must take the second step,” she declared.
Slightly less ambitious attempts were made by the centre-left government of Romano Prodi in 2007 but were abandoned following a huge demo by anti-gay rights protesters.
Head of the Rainbow Families association, Marilena Grassadonia, slammed the bill as a “a monument to the hypocrisy and ineptitude of a political class.” Grassadonia added that the bill would go down in history for its shortcomings.
“This government will go down in history not for having passed the first law on gay unions, but for having denied children their family rights,” she said.
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