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Loading ...Argentine Congress considers same-sex marriage
10.29.2009 3:00pm EDT
(Buenos Aires, Argentina) Is Argentina ready to become Latin America’s first nation to legalize gay marriage?
Gay and lesbian activists think so – and they have a growing number of supporters in Congress, which opened debate Thursday on whether to change dozens of laws that define marriage as a union between a “man and woman.”“We can’t expect social equality if the state is legitimizing inequality,” said Maria Rachid, president of Argentina’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Federation. “We now have the social and political context necessary to change the law.”
It remains to be seen whether they have enough votes to overcome opposition from religious groups. The Roman Catholic Church remains a driving force in Argentina, where presidents were required to be both married and Catholic until a 1994 reform.
Some Catholic and evangelical Christian groups have accused the government of trying to subvert the natural order of life, promote perversions and destroy the family as an institution.
“This should not be understood as the denial of anyone’s rights,” said Archbishop Jose Maria Arancedo of Santa Fe, who took a gentler tone in a recent radio address. “It’s possible both to be progressive and to defend the family, founded on the institution of marriage.”
Argentina’s capital established its gay-friendly reputation in 2002 by becoming the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex civil unions. Four other Argentine cities later did the same, and such unions also now are recognized in Mexico City and some Mexican and Brazilian states. Uruguay alone has legalized civil unions nationwide.
Canada is the only nation in the Americas where gay marriage is now legal; in the Spanish-speaking world, only Spain has taken this additional step.
The capital’s civil unions law was initially celebrated as a huge victory for gay and lesbian rights, but such partnerships don’t confer many rights exclusive to married couples, such as the right to adopt children in the name of both parents, to enable a partner to gain citizenship and to inherit wealth or be included in insurance policies.
“A civil union is a link that grants certain rights, but not those available to a married couple, which only a national law can grant,” the bills’ co-sponsor, Rep. Vilma Ibarra, told The Associated Press. “This is the first round in a long process, but it is already a success to have it out there.”
Rachid said more than 20 lawmakers have signed on as supporters of same-sex marriage, and they believe they have enough votes in committee for a full vote in the lower house. It would then go to the Senate.
Rachid and her partner, Claudia Castro, were among the first same-sex couples in Buenos Aires to form a civil union – and the first to test Argentine law by applying for a marriage license in 2007. Their suit over the denial is pending at the Supreme Court.
“The opinion of religious leaders who dictate how other people should lead their lives should apply only to those who share their creed, and not to the rest of society,” Rachid said during an interview with Castro in the Buenos Aires apartment they share with their dog, Lola.
“We don’t need a law to define us as a couple – we’ve already been a couple for more than 10 years,” Castro added. “We just want to have equal rights.”
If the law passes, they plan to be first in line for a marriage license.
I wish them luck. How embarassing if “the land of the free” is behind countries with such dictatorial pasts.
It is an incredibly beautiful country with wonderful people and the most melodious version of Castillian spanish I’ve heard. I noticed a huge gay community the few times I’ve visited…they deserve this, and I hope they get it. I will however wonder why we talk so much about freedom here and countries like Argentina are so far ahead of us.
Remember, this is at the federal level. Look what we have: DOMA.
Dave,
You said it: this is not the land of the free. Canada is more the land of the free than the United States. Slaves escaped via the underground railroad to Canada to receive their freedom. Now we as gays must do the same in order to get married.
I am an Argentine living in the US, but participating as much as I can in the online in the major newspapers there. The conservative people use the same fear-mongering strategy as in the US, and the Catholic Church still has a strong influence on politicians, so this is going to be a tough battle. However, the feeling that this is a very tangible opportunity to get equal rights is motivating a lot of LGBT people to get out and participate.
im pretty sure Columbia also has civil unions
If Spain can do it, I am confident that Argentina can also stand up for their citizens.
Well I think we can all safely say that the U.S. is still a world leader in hypocrisy and intolerance. Let’s hope Uruguay and hopefully Argentina show our “backwater” country how freedom is supposed to work!
Argentina has had some rough times in the last several years, including an economic crash far worse than what we’re in now. Somehow, Argentina isn’t using any of that as an excuse to avoid progress. Even if it doesn’t pass this time, it looks like it will happen. I’m glad for them, and I’m embarrassed that we still have DOMA because neither our Congress nor our President will do the right thing by removing a discriminatory (and very possibly unconstitutional) law.
This is a very important battle, for it will be the beginning of the end of legalized discrimination in much of the Latin world, and a kick in the ass to the hatemonger monstrosity called the vatican.
But if we cam move America in the right direction, to what reasonably will be a mix of civil unions and marriage, it will be the message to the whole western world that gay people are to be treated equally under the law.
If you aren’t involved, I am sorry to say you are actually part of the problem. Silence is not an option.
The more countries and the more states in our country that move forward with marriage equality legislation will make a stronger case for us to either have DOMA repealed or have the United States Supreme Court strike it down. Eventually, we will have marriage equality in the United States. It is sad that when it comes to GLBT human rights that our country is so behind. On the other hand, a lot of people are fighting for us in the courts, in the government, and in the public eye. I wish them the best and hope more change comes sooner rather than later.
This coming Monday (11/16) the first same sex marriage in Latin America will be performed in Buenos Aires after a judge ruled the prohibition currently in place as unconstitutional. The Mayor of Buenos Aires announced he is not going to appeal the sentence and therefore the path is cleared for this particular couple to marry. Meanwhile the Congress debate on changing the law.