Also read: same-sex marriage, LGBT, civil rights, global, Latino
In a 33-27 vote, the Argentine senate approved a measure last week to legalize same-sex marriage. Yesterday, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed it into law, making Argentina the first nation in Latin America to permit gay and lesbian couples the same legal marriage rights as heterosexuals.
"From today onward, Argentina is a more just and democratic country," said Maria Rachid, president of the Argentine Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Federation, to The Associated Press (AP). The law "not only recognizes the rights of our families, but also the possibility of having access to healthcare, to leave a pension, to leave our assets to the people with whom we have shared many years of life, including our children."
"This is a landmark step in the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Argentina to equality," says Louise Finer of Amnesty International. "Now it's up to the rest of the countries in Latin America to follow suit."
The decision was made by Argentinean lawmakers despite strong opposition from Roman Catholics; some 60,000 people marched on Congress to oppose the ruling. In Argentina, more than 90 percent self-identify as Catholic.
"We shouldn't be naive: This isn't just a political struggle, it's a strategy to destroy God's plan," wrote Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, head of the church in Argentina, in a letter prior to the vote, reports Reuters Africa.
The once-powerful Catholic Church may be losing political influence, and similar legislation will be approved in other Latin nations. Uruguay, for instance, has already passed laws allowing same-sex unions. But gay-rights groups in that country, seeking full marriage rights, are preparing legislation to replace "man and woman" with references to "spouse" throughout the civil code, reports AP.
Some states in Brazil and Mexico recognize same-sex unions as well. Last week, Mexico launched a tourism campaign, offering a free honeymoon in Cancun to the first gay couple to wed under the new Argentine law, according to the BBC.
The Colombian Constitutional Court permits gay couples inheritance rights and allows them to add partners to health-insurance plans. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has promised some increased rights to gay and lesbian couples.
"We're confident this is going to inspire other countries in the region to follow suit ... Sometimes there's a lot of fear to be the first, and that's precisely what we've done in Argentina, we've broken new ground," Cesar Cigliutti, president of Argentina's CHA gay association, told Reuters.
A 2007 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, however, found a majority of the people polled in African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries do not view homosexuality as socially acceptable. When people in European countries were asked if "homosexual marriage should be allowed," Pew found mixed responses, from 82 percent in Holland favoring same-sex nuptials to only 17 percent in primarily Catholic Poland.
On Sunday, a crowd between 8,000 and 10,000 of gay-rights activists and allies marched in Warsaw in a pride event, marking "the first time the annual EuroPride march has been held in a former eastern block Communist country," states Euronews.com.
Countries that recognize civil partnerships include Andorra, Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovenia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, reports the BBC.
In the United States, same-sex couples can marry in five states and Washington, D.C.
