The Italian Senate in January will
consider a civil partnerships bill.
The Civil Union and Cohabitation
agreement bill was introduced on Thursday. Backing the bill are 15
MPs of the Democratic Party and 1 Civil Choice MP.
According to the blog Agere
per Formulas, gay and lesbian couples in a civil partnership
would receive many of the same rights and obligations as marriage,
including the possibility of adopting a partner's biological child.
However, the bill would not allow gay couples to jointly adopt
children.
Matteo Renzzi, the 38-year-old
newly-elected leader of Italy's Democratic Party, spoke in favor of
civil partnerships during a recent party assembly.
The Democratic Party, along with Five
Star Movement and Forza Italia, is one of Italy's three major
political parties. Five Star Movement has previously endorsed
marriage equality, but the Silvio Berlusconi-led center-right Forza
Italia remains opposed.
(Related: Rome
Mayor Ignazio Marino: Gay couples in love should marry.)