Chilean President Sebastian Piñera has reversed course on a stalled same-sex marriage bill.

According to Reuters, Piñera backed the bill during his recent annual address to lawmakers.

“I think the time for equal marriage has come in our country,” he said.

“All people, regardless of their sexual orientation, will be able to live, love, and form a family with all the protection and dignity they need and deserve,” he added.

Piñera served as president from 2010 to 2014. He returned to the office in 2018.

During his first term, Piñera, a conservative, introduced a civil unions bill for gay and straight couples who have lived together for more than one year. In backing civil unions, Piñera snuffed a burgeoning campaign for same-sex marriage in Chile. His bill became law in 2015.

In 2017, former President Michelle Bachelet, the first woman to hold the Chilean presidency, introduced a same-sex marriage bill.

Gay and lesbian couples can marry in neighboring Argentina. Other South American nations with same-sex marriage include Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Uruguay.