Tag Archives: South America

Two days ago the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled 6-3 to legalize same-sex marriage and while some formalities remain ahead before weddings can commence, Levis yesterday extended their congratulations with a cheeky hanky code image.

In a ruling that was widely anticipated, today the Colombian Constitution Court issued a landmark 6-3 ruling which legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide. Today’s ruling follows a 2011 decision which declared that unions between same-sex couples fall under the government’s definition of families. You can find Spanish-language reporting on today’s ruling here and here. I’ll update this post shortly when we …

JMG reader Luis reports at The Perchy Bird: In Colombia, several media outlets have reported that a 20-page Constitutional Court opinion that will bring marriage equality to the country is ready and only awaits a meeting to cast a Court vote. According to them, sources close to the Court say that the magistrates will vote against one conservative judge’s proposal …

Tomorrow Colombia may join Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay and become the fourth South American nation to legalize same-sex marriage. From our very own Perchy Bird: Originally, the [Supreme] Court’s website wrote that the debate on the issue of whether gay couples can marry and if existing marriages performed by civil court judges should be annulled was planned on February 4th, …

Gay Star News reports: Police in Lima, Peru broke up a peaceful gay kiss protest with water cannons on Saturday (13 February). Dozens of people gathered together to protest against homophobia. They held hands, kissed, embraced and waved rainbow flags. Sin Eqiguetas, a LGBTI website in Lima, posted pictures that showed same-sex couples kissing as armored police trucks loomed in …

Guyana is the only country in South America where gay sex acts remain illegal. Last week recently elected Guyana President David Granger indicated his willingness to change that. The Guyana Chronicle reports: Granger said that he is prepared to respect the rights of any adult to indulge in any practice which is not harmful to others. This revelation was made …

The local Catholic Church is very unhappy. The Associated Press reports: In a historic decision, Colombia’s constitutional court opened the door Wednesday for same-sex couples to legally adopt children in the conservative South American nation. In the 6-2 ruling, the court said adoption agencies can’t discriminate against gay, lesbian and transsexual couples during an adoption process. Colombia’s Roman Catholic Church …

After an investigation lasting several weeks, Peruvian police have raided a gay strip club which they claim was operating as a “clandestine brothel” in which the owners took a cut from go-go boys hired for sex by VIP card-holding patrons. Spanish-language news reports say that Club Casanova, located in the Lima suburb of Brena, held 60 customers at the time …

US Ambassador Mike Hammer celebrated on Twitter this morning as Chile’s civil unions law goes into effect today. The BBC reports: In Chile, a new law comes into force on Thursday which will make it easier for unmarried co-habiting couples to co-own property and make medical decisions. The law will apply to both heterosexual and same-sex couples. Government spokesman Marcelo …

A special committee called by Brazilian Chamber of Deputies President Eduardo Cunha has approved a statute that defines a family as a being headed by a man and a woman. The statute is seen as the first move in an attempt to roll back same-sex marriage rights. World Crunch reports: Rio de Janeiro daily O Globo reports that the text was …

J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed: Colombia’s top court held a day-long hearing on Thursday on whether it should interpret its constitution as giving marriage rights to same-sex couples — framing the debate in a wider discussion about whether international standards now dictate that marriage equality is a fundamental right. The hearing comes five weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court …

Pink News reports: Gay couples flocked to civil registry offices in Chile to schedule the first same-sex civil unions since they were approved in the country earlier this year. Thursday (July 9) was the first day that couples could apply for the licence, after a bill approving same-sex civil unions was signed by the country’s President Michelle Bachelet back in …

Pope Francis will hold his first-ever meeting with a married gay activist during a visit to Paraguay next month. The activist is Simón Cazal, executive director of the Paraguayan LGBT rights group SOMOSGAY, who married another SOMOSGAY activist, Sergio López, in neighboring Argentina in 2012. Though the pope has reportedly held pastoral meetings with some LGBT people, this meeting marks …

An estimated crowd of more than 50,000 turned out yesterday in Santiago for a march in support of marriage equality in Chile.  The march, organised by by the Movement of Integration and Sexual Liberation (MOVILH) and the Movement for Sexual Diversity (Mums), ended at the presidential palace of La Moneda, with speeches from various activists and political leaders. ​The demonstrators …

Colombian Interior Minister Juan Cristo yesterday vowed to soon make same-sex marriage legal. Via Gay Star News: “The government supports the fight for equality and we will adopt measures providing equal marriage rights for all,” Cristo said at the Andes University in Bogota on Thursday, as reported by Efe. He said he would not submit to the mercy of the …

Thousands of Peruvians rallied in Lima’s Plaza San Martin on Saturday following last week’s rejection of a civil unions bill by the national legislature. (Via Andres Duque)

Translation: “Civil unions: rejected. It’s a shame to see how homophobia takes power in Congress. Let’s show our outrage on the streets! Everyone to Plaza San Martin now!”

Just last month the Chilean Congress issued its final approval for civil unions. And yesterday the government reached an agreement to formally drop its opposition to a pending same-sex marriage lawsuit. Michael Lavers reports at the Washington Blade: Members of President Michelle Bachelet’s administration on Tuesday met with representatives of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, an LGBT advocacy …

Via the Washington Blade: A bill that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions in Chile on Wednesday received final approval in the South American country’s Congress. The Chilean Senate approved the measure by a 25-6 vote margin with three abstentions. The bill passed in the country’s House of Representatives by a 78-9 vote margin. “A historic step …

Last night Chile’s Chamber of Deputies overwhelmingly approved a civil unions bill with a vote of 86-23.  Two weeks ago the Chilean Senate approved the bill with a 28-6 vote after which anti-gay protesters had to be forcibly ejected from the gallery. The bill must now return to the Senate for another vote as the Deputies last night approved an …