Across the globe, there have been changes in public opinion and government policy reflecting an increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage. In 2005, same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada and Spain, with many other countries following suit over the next decade. On Jun. 26, 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States. Most recently, for the first time ever, courts in China have agreed to hear a lawsuit on same-sex marriage, which was filed by couple Sun Wenlin and Hu Mingliang against the civil affairs bureau who were denied marriage licenses back in June.Meanwhile, same-sex couples in Italy are still quite a ways away from marriage legalization. Following the event called Family Day in Rome on January 30, 2016, a much different climate towards same-sex coupling has been gaining attention in the country. Tens of thousands of people from across the nation gathered at Circus Maximus in the country’s capital to attend the public rally in protest of same-sex unions. The event was crafted to stress to the Italian government that acknowledging same-sex unions would be a threat to the structure of the traditional family, as well as to encourage them to drop a bill that was presented to parliament the week before. This piece of legislation would offer same-sex couples legal recognition in the form of civil unions and limited adoption rights. The clause on adoption is especially criticized as a threat to the welfare of children, the structure of the family and as a means to promote surrogacy, which is illegal too. General support for this clause is markedly lower than support for the allowance of civil unions.It was only a week earlier that people were in the streets of major cities across the country demanding the approval of the same bill, illustrating how deep ideological and religious splits have polarized the issue. The country is also one of only a few in Western Europe lacking any form of recognition for same-sex unions. This has resulted in repeated grievances from the European Court.Despite the national “Family Day” and the tens of thousands of protesters, the Italian Senate began voting on the issue Tuesday afternoon. It got off to a discordant start. Voting in this department was expected to end Tuesday night and passed to the lower house but the group was adjourned until Wednesday morning at the request of several senators. This article was written by Maya Williams. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons