The battle over a bill designed to combat homophobia was continuing to rage on Tuesday, with the backers of the package rejecting a compromise that they said would water it down.
The so-called Zan bill has been at the centre of tension for weeks, with the Vatican recently getting involved, expressing concerns that it could breach the Lateran Treaty that regulates relations between the Italian State and the Holy See/Catholic Church.
The Vatican and conservative Italian political parties are worried that the bill could curb freedom of expression, in part because it allegedly leaves areas open to interpretation by courts because it is too vague.
The bill's sponsor, Alessandro Zan of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), argues that the bill would not crimp freedom of expression, and Catholic conservatives would still be able to state that they find homosexuality sinful.
The bill would make homophobia an aggravating factor in acts of violence or discrimination like racism already is.
The bill would also set up an anti-discrimination day that private Catholic schools would be expected to take part in.
The centrist Italia Viva (IV) party, which says it backs the bill, has proposed amendments to it which it says would suffice to win the support of Matteo Salvini's right-wing League.
But the PD and the 5-Star Movement (M5S) have rejected this compromise and are set to push for the bill to get a slot in the Senate schedule next week - it has already passed the Lower House.
"If IV vote united in favour in the Senate, we have the numbers to get it through," said Zan.
League lawmaker Andrea Ostellari, meanwhile, has proposed amending the bill by taking out any reference to "gender identity".
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