CHILE: Civil Union Signups Begin

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 April. The first same-sex civil ceremonies will take place in October, and while the LGBT community in Chile still fights for the right to marry, many see this as the first step on the to gaining full equal rights for sam-sex couples. Many couples took to Twitter to share their joy and excitement, as well as to announce the date on which their ceremonies will take place.

RELATED: Elsewhere in South America same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Brazil, French Guiana, and Uruguay. Civil unions are legal in Colombia and Ecuador. A same-sex marriage lawsuit is pending before the Venezuelan Supreme Court. Homosexual acts remain illegal in Guyana, but nowhere else on the continent.