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Loading ...Colombia high court upholds same-sex partner rights
01.29.2009 12:17pm EST
(Bogota) Colombia’s Constitutional Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the government must provide same-sex partners with all of the rights that opposite-sex couples have.
Last year, LGBT rights groups went to court seeking health and other government benefits. Last April, a lower court ruled that same-sex couples are implicitly covered under the constitution’s guarantee of equal rights for all citizens.The ruling also said that to exclude same-sex partners would violate the principle of non-discrimination and human dignity as the expression of personal autonomy, protected by international law.
The Constitutional Court decision means same-sex couples will have pension, survivor and property rights.
In 2007, the Constitutional Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples must have the same property rights as opposite-sex couples.
In that case, the court carefully noted the decision did not automatically permit civil unions. That issue it said was up to the Congress.
Colombia’s Congress then passed legislation giving same-sex couples most of the same rights as opposite-sex married couples, but the bill died in a procedural move by conservative senators.
The reversal came after the powerful Catholic Church in Colombia warned lawmakers they were violating Vatican policy and could be denied the sacraments.
All legal progress made in the last five years in Colombia has been accomplished through decisions by the Colombian Constitutional Court.
To JimMccarthly: FIRST OF ALL MAKE YOUR PARTNER WRITE A WILL. According to Colombian law, when somebody dies, the partner is entitled to half of the other person’s estate. A quarter is to be divided in equal parts between the first blood line relatives in this case the mother and father if there is no kids. But only the last quarter is what the person is allowed to give freely to whoever he decides in a legal will. Since you own half of the property already, the mother is only entitled to a little more than a tenth of the property. Otherwise she gets a bigger chunk.
Can someone tell me whic is true if a gay couple have a property in Colombia, one is Colombian the other is European, is it true that in thecase of the Colombian person dying his mother gets up to a quarter of the value of the property, I keep getting a different answer form each Notaria, one was even so rude as to say the mother gets everything.any help in this matter would help thanks
if it is true and everything is equal then why is it that still a gay couple can not leave his or her’ property to their partner, I was told it gose to the main property owners mother first.as long as she is living,this is wrong,I was also told its the same for straight couples. when the mother or mother in law didn’t pay for the property or live in it then why should she get it.
Why are we in such s..t while almost all of the western world is so far ahead of us.
Because we haven’t knocked over the nazis who control the vatican. Yes I know lots of good priests who would support gay equality, but know it would be the end of their lifes work, with no appeal from the tyrant.
And then we have the christian homophobes – whose lineage for the most part goes straight through the same people who gave us slavery and segregation, in the name of God, no less.
I’m sure though that God has their tickets for the next life all prepared – with the destination being His re-education camp.
It is amazing to see how all these developing countries are providing their citizens with the basic human rights while the US is behind on these issues. We are supposed to have all the benefits here in the land of “freedom”. I am begining to think that word is just sinical game between politicians and evangelicals…
Now we have a black president, equal pay for all women. When is the LGTB community getting something positive going their way in the most powelful nation of the world? …hope to be around to see it
Colombia isn’t part of the third world countries. I’m glad something is being done by them! It’s all religion at the end of the day, this is why I’m against any religion who discriminate against others!
Ah the Church always the bastion of equality………..and why are they tax exempt again…
That’s great! Good for Colombians! I can’t understand why does a so-called 3 world country have better treatment to its citizens than the US which is supposed to be the land of the free!