A bill which would legalize gay
marriage in Uruguay cleared its first hurdle on Wednesday.
The House Committee on the Constitution
approved the measure, paving the way for a December 11 vote in the
Chamber of Deputies, Spanish news agency EFE
reported. The Senate is expected to debate the measure next
year, after its summer recess.
“The institution of marriage will
mean the union of two parties, regardless of gender identity or
sexual orientation, on the same terms, with the same effects and
means of dissolution as presented in the Civil Code,” states the
first article of the measure presented by the ruling Frente Amplio
(FA) Party.
Last year, a court in Uruguay for the
first time recognized the legal marriage of a gay couple. Judge
Eduardo Martinez recognized on appeal the legality of a marriage
entered into in Spain, where Socialists legalized marriage equality
in 2005. The binational couple lives in both Uruguay and Spain.
Currently, Uruguay recognizes gay and
lesbian couples with civil unions. After a couple has lived in a
“stable relationship” for 5 years they may petition the
government for recognition.
If approved, Uruguay would become only
the second South American country after Argentina to legalize
marriage equality.
(Related: As
Colombia debates marriage equality, Senator calls gay sex
“repulsive.”)