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Argentina Senate Passes Gay Marriage Law

by Jordan Yerman | July 15, 2010 at 07:22 am

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Argentina Passes Gay Marriage Law after Heated Debate

Argentina's Senate passed a law allowing gay marriage, in defiance of Catholic Church opposition. The Law passed by a narrow margin of 33-27. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is expected to sign the bill into law, as she has supported the measure for the past year.

Debating Gay Marriage: Argentine Congress

While it seems risky to support such a controversial law just a year before an election, opinion polls show the Argentine public supports same-sex marriage to a greater degree than does the Senate. Argentina will become the first South American nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

Same-sex civil unions have already been legalized in Buenos Aires.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez supports gay marriage on human rights grounds and is expected to sign the law after her return from a state visit to China. The proposal cleared Argentina's lower house in May.

Fernandez told state news agency Telam the law was a "positive step that defends minority rights."

The Senate's decision is sure to bring a wave of marriages by gays and lesbians who have increasingly found Buenos Aires to be more accepting than many other places in the region.