Debating Gay Marriage: Argentine Congress

by smkovalinsky | October 29, 2009 at 03:37 pm

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The Associated press reports that in Argentina , Congress is examining and debating a gay marriage bill.

If the bill is approved, the move will make Argentina the first of Latin American countries to have legalized same sex marriage. In the Americas, it would be the only other beside Canada. Chamber of Deputies is looking over two proposed pieces of legislation submitted by the Socialist Party and by the Popular Social Encounter Party.

There has been , predictably, backlash from Catholic clergy.

A similar measure introduced in 2007 fueled a backlash from the Roman Catholic Church, which opposes the measure. The church wields huge influence in the country of 40 million. Until 1994, the nation's president and vice president were required by law to be members of the Catholic Church and married.

“Claiming heterosexuality as a prerequisite for marriage is not discrimination,” Archbishop Jose Maria Arancedo of Santa Fe told the paper La Nation.

In 2002, Buenos Aires, the nation's capital and largest city, legalized civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, a first in Latin America. Four other Argentine cities followed. Uruguay is the only Latin American country to recognize gay unions.

The Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender is urging lawmakers to approve the law. On its website, the group is asking supporters to write to their legislators.

Sample text offered by the group reads: “[Gay men and lesbians] are now denied many basic rights that belong to everyone, rights that should be recognized by the law and guaranteed by the state.”