COSTA RICA: Judge Grants First Common Law Gay Marriage In Central America

Via the Tico Times:

A Costa Rican judge has granted the first openly gay common-law marriage in Central America, said Francisco Madrigal, political affairs director for the Center for Research and Promotion of Human Rights in Central America (CIPAC). On Tuesday morning, news broke that Gerald Castro and Cristian Zamora, a gay couple in the city of Goicoechea, north of San José, were granted a common-law marriage by the Family Court there. Along with being the first legal recognition of a same-sex relationship in Central America, the decision could set an example for judges elsewhere in the country to recognize gay relationships and even adoption. But both supporters and opponents of the decision expect a forthcoming legal battle over the landmark ruling.

A civil unions bill is pending in the Costa Rica legislature. (Tipped by JMG reader Luis)

NICARAGUA: Laws Banning Gay Adoption And Same-Sex Marriage Go Into Effect

Via Agence France-Presse:

A new legal definition of what constitutes a family took effect in Nicaragua on Wednesday, drawing ire from gay groups who say it massively impacts their rights. The so-called Family Code, which was first agreed in June 2014, establishes marriage as only being "between a man and a woman." Aside from barring gay marriage, the definition precludes gays from adopting and diminishes other rights. "We feel we have been excluded from these laws," said Marvin Mayorga, leader of the Movement for Sexual Diversity. The rule explicitly states that only man-woman couples, foreign or Nicaraguan, can adopt. Additionally, Mayorga said gay couples would not be allowed to use fertility treatments to get pregnant. Nor would they be entitled to social security protection or inheritance in the case of loss of a spouse.

LGBT groups plan to challenge the laws in court.

COSTA RICA: Survey Shows Some Cops Approve Of Abusing LGBT People

Costa Rica is generally regarded as relatively LGBT friendly, so this is disturbing. Via Inside Costa Rica:

In the survey, in which nearly 500 police, traffic, and immigration officers responded, 17.7% said they felt it was acceptable to demand bribes from gay people while 20.4% found it acceptable to detain gay people without probable cause. A further 15.7% said they felt it was acceptable to physically harm gay people without cause and 13.5% felt the sexual abuse of a gay person was acceptable. Further, many officers said it is better to ignore complaints of domestic violence in same-sex couples rather than respond. More than 60% of officers said they believe that homosexuality is a disease or illness. Deputy Minister of the Interior, Carmen Muñoz, called the situation a major challenge.

Costa Ricans are broadly protected by anti-discrimination laws, but same-sex marriage and adoption remains banned.

COSTA RICA: Newly Elected President Flies Rainbow Flag Over Casa Presidencial

Via the Tico Times:

Just over a week since taking office, President Luis Guillermo Solís made history Friday morning when he became the first Costa Rican leader to raise the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement on even mast with the Costa Rican red-white-and-blue tricolor on the lawn of the Casa Presidencial. Vice President Ana Helena Chacón hoisted the flag in honor of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, May 17. “This is the house of all Costa Ricans. When we say all Costa Ricans we mean all, without exclusion, without violence, without harassment in absolute respect for the rights of each one,” Solís told a crowd of LGBT leaders and advocates during his brief comments on the lawn.

LGBT Costa Ricans enjoy protections in employment, public accommodations, and other areas, but same-sex marriage, gay adoption, and military service remain banned. Perhaps that will change soon.

EL SALVADOR: Gay Marriage Ban Fails

An attempt to place a ban on same-sex marriage into the national constitution has failed miserably in El Salvador.

According to Spanish news agency EFE, only 19 out of 84 lawmakers on Friday voted in favor of the ban. The measure, which cleared the chamber in 2012, defines marriage as between a man and a woman and their children. It also sought to prohibit El Salvador from recognizing the foreign marriages of gay couples and bans gays from adopting children. A constitutional amendment requires the approval of two consecutive legislatures; a simply majority (43 votes) during the first reading followed by a supermajority (56).

RELATED: El Salvador is the only Central American country that allows gays to serve openly in its armed forces.

HONDURAS: Activists March On Attorney General Over Epidemic Of Gay Murders

Globovision reports that 22 LGBT people have been murdered so far this year in Honduras. Five were murdered this month alone. Via Google Translate:

Members of the gay community of Honduras on Monday marched to the Attorney General to clarify and justice for the murder of about 22 companions so far in 2013, five of them in the last month. "We demand justice for cases of our colleagues who have been killed," said journalist José Zambrano, one of the leaders of the Association for a Better Life in Honduras (APUVIMEH), who participated in the march, which ended in front of the headquarters of the Special Prosecutor for crimes against life, an office which was created in August.

(Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

HONDURAS: American Libertarians To Build New City Free Of Taxes

The Honduran government has granted permission for the construction of a new city that will be completely free of income, sales, and capital gains taxes. The city will be built by an American investment group of libertarians that says it will use the state of Texas as a model for the few laws they will put in place.

Proponents say the tiny, as-yet unnamed town will become a Central American beacon of job creation and investment, by combining secure property rights with minimal government interference. “Once we provide a sound legal system within which to do business, the whole job creation machine – the miracle of capitalism – will get going,” Michael Strong, CEO of the MKG Group, which will build the city and set its laws, told FoxNews.com. Strong said that the agreement with the Honduran government states that the only tax will be on property. “Our goal is to be the most economically free entity on Earth,” Strong said. “First, we will build the critical infrastructure -- roads, water, power, sewers," Strong said. "In collaboration with the [Honduran] government, we will then create the city’s government system and the security, and 3 to 6 months after that we will build the first factories.” The MKG Group city is the first to get approval, but Honduras plans to create other “free cities” as well.

Strong is on the board of directors of homocon billionaire Peter Thiel's Seasteading Institute, which has proposed a similar plan to creating floating "free cities" using oil drilling platforms.  The Honduran project will presumably include Thiel's plan to evade international banking regulations.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize Court May Decriminalize Homosexuality

Homosexual acts between men are presently illegal in the tiny Central American nation of Belize, with punishments as harsh as ten years in prison. But according to the quite nasty alert I've just been forwarded, Belize's sodomy law will be reviewed by the nation's highest court on December 5th.

The homosexual organization UNIBAM (United Belize Advocacy Movement) and Caleb Orozco has brought a lawsuit against the Attorney General, and thus, Govt. of Belize, seeking to change Section 53 of the Criminal Code, which says: "Any person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person or any animal shall be liable to 10 years imprisonment." Orosco & UNIBAM are seeking to remove the words “any person or” so that this law would not apply to interpersonal relationships but only that of sex with animals. They are seeking to use the Constitution phrases & sections pertaining to “personal privacy, human dignity, etc.” to have the present law declared unconstitutional unless that wording is changed. The end goal is SAME SEX MARRIAGE in Belize and a broad HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA of what’s called “GENDER MAINSTREAMING,” making the gay & lesbian lifestyle accepted in our society & culture.

The group fighting the repeal of anti-sodomy laws has a Facebook page.

RELATED: Female homosexual acts are not banned in Belize. It is currently illegal for "professional homosexuals" to enter the country for any reason.

PANAMA: Lesbian Couple Jailed For Kiss

Onscreen clip translation by Andres Duque at Blabbeando. He reports:

On Sunday, 32 year old Valentina Hernandez (right) and her 23 year old girlfriend were enjoying a romantic walk down the streets of the historic Casco Antigüo colonial district of Panama City when she stopped to give her girlfriend a kiss. Hernandez, a psychologist by profession, reached out to Panamanian newspaper Prensa and shared details of what followed. Hernandez says that a member of Panama's presidential guard who had seen them kiss approached them and accused them of improper behavior. When Hernandez asked him to explain clearly which law they had violated, the guard grew exasperated and called for reinforcement. She says that ten other members of the Institutional Protective Service (S.P.I.) quickly showed up and took her ID and cell phone as they whisked the couple to the local police precinct. Hernandez says that, once they reached the precinct, she was given an intrusive body check by a policewoman. "I felt they touched me everywhere," she said, "They rubbed their hands on my genitals, it was disgusting, my girlfriend was asked to take her pants off." Hernandez says that they were both held behind bars for hours until the authorities asked her to sign a three-page document which they did not allow her to read completely but in which she was told she would free the authorities of any responsibility for their detention. "I signed," she said, "because I did not want to spend a night in a jail cell."

COSTA RICA: Supreme Court Rules Marriage Referendum Unconstitutional

Andres Duque translates the good news.

The Supreme Court in Costa Rica ruled (today) that a referendum scheduled for December 1st which would have banned marriage rights for same-sex couples was unconstitutional. The article does not give the vote total but says that the majority determined that the issue of marriage rights was a judicial issue and not an electoral issue and that the rights of minorities should never be subjected to a referendum process where they might be subjected to the wishes of a majority.

Emphasis motherfucking mine, Maggie.

Costa Rica Considers Marriage Vote

Costa Rican LGBT activists are fighting an effort by the Catholic Church to force a public vote on legal recognition for same-sex relationships.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) approved a proposal made by four lawyers, backed by 150,000 signatures -- 20,000 more than are legally required -- calling for the referendum, rather than the legislature, to determine whether to allow gay and lesbian civil unions. It set Dec. 5 as the date for the vote. The fate of the referendum is now in the hands of the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court, which must rule on a legal challenge to the ballot, based on the principle that human rights cannot be subject to a vote. Since 2006, the single-chamber Costa Rican parliament has been discussing a civil union bill that would recognise same-sex couples. The referendum is being openly promoted by Observatorio Ciudadano, an organisation backed by the Catholic Church, in this overwhelmingly Catholic country. Human rights organisations accuse the Church leadership of religious interference in political affairs.

In recent years Costa Rica has become an increasingly popular travel destination for gay men. That is likely to end should the referendum succeed.

COSTA RICA: High Court Suspends Gay Marriage Referendum

Costa Rica's highest court has orderd that an upcoming vote on same-sex marriage be suspended because it might violate the nation's constitution.

The Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) has ordered the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) to suspend the process of the referendum on same sex marriages that was to have been included in the December 2010 municipal elections. The court order was based on an appeal filed against the referendum. The Recurso Amparo (appeal) was presented by an individual identified only by the last names, Quirós Salazar, alleging that the referendum violates the rights and freedoms of individuals. The referendum was to have let the population decide the fate of a proposal for law that would allow same sex marriages in Costa Rica. Opponents to the referendum have argued that leaving the allowing the majority of the population (93%) which is heterosexual would be a constitutional violation of the 7% of the homosexual population.

Hurray for not allowing votes on minority rights!

Newly Elected Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla Discusses Same-Sex Marriage

Just elected Costa Rica president Laura Chinchilla says its time for her country to move forward on same-sex partnership rights, but adds that marriage itself must be left to heterosexuals. Clip and captioning by Andres Duque at Blabbeando.

HONDURAS: LGBT Activist Walter Trochez Assassinated In Drive-By Shooting

Doug Ireland reports that Honduran LGBT activist Walter Trochez was assassinated in his home country over the weekend.

Walter Trochez 25 years old, a well-known LGBT activist in an active member of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'etat there, was assassinated on the evening of December 13, shot dead by drive-by killers. Trochez, who had already been arrested and beaten for his sexual orientation after participating in a march against the coup, had been very active recently in documenting and publicizing homophobic killings and crimes committed by the forces behind the coup, which is believed to have been the motive for his murder. He had been trailed for weeks before his murder by thugs believed to be members of the state security forces.

Trochez had recently published an editorial decrying the human rights violations of the ruling regime, which has murdered at least 18 other LGBT citizens.