COLOMBIA: Top Court Considers Marriage

J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed:

Colombia’s top court held a day-long hearing on Thursday on whether it should interpret its constitution as giving marriage rights to same-sex couples — framing the debate in a wider discussion about whether international standards now dictate that marriage equality is a fundamental right. The hearing comes five weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow marriage equality, in a move that reverberated around the world. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, Colombia’s Constitutional Court weighs foreign precedent and international human rights law in its decisions. To discuss the question of marriage equality in Thursday’s debate, the Court’s judges invited a broad range of international opinions, including representatives of the United Nations’ human rights office, the U.S.-based conservative legal group the Alliance Defending Freedom, and Albie Sachs, the former chief justice of South Africa’s Constitutional Court who authored a 2005 marriage equality ruling.

A decision is expected by the end of the summer.

RELATED: Elsewhere in South America same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Brazil, French Guiana, and Uruguay. Civil unions are legal in Chile, 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.

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.

Pope Francis To Meet Married Gay Activist

Pope Francis will hold his first-ever meeting with a married gay activist during a visit to Paraguay next month.

The activist is Simón Cazal, executive director of the Paraguayan LGBT rights group SOMOSGAY, who married another SOMOSGAY activist, Sergio López, in neighboring Argentina in 2012. Though the pope has reportedly held pastoral meetings with some LGBT people, this meeting marks the first time he will publicly meet with an LGBT political activist. Cazal received an invitation on June 4 from the committee of the Paraguayan bishops’ conference to participate in a roundtable with the pope and civil society leaders. The invitation — provided to BuzzFeed News by SOMOSGAY — said it was extended in recognition of the “high impact of your organization on Paraguayan society.” The meeting will be held on July 11 in the capital, Asunción.

SOMOSGAY says the invitation to meet with the pope came as a surprise as they had not requested an audience during the papal visit. Paraguay currently does not offer any legal protections to its LGBT citizens and a constitutional ban on same-sex unions was enacted in 1992. Homosexuality has been legal there since 1880.

CHILE: 50K March For Marriage Equality

An estimated crowd of more than 50,000 turned out yesterday in Santiago for a march in support of marriage equality in Chile. 

The march, organised by by the Movement of Integration and Sexual Liberation (MOVILH) and the Movement for Sexual Diversity (Mums), ended at the presidential palace of La Moneda, with speeches from various activists and political leaders. ​The demonstrators urged the government to implement the Gender Identity Bill, currently being debated in the Senate. They also recalled the murders of five people in 2014 because of their sexual orientation with a short ceremony during the march. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a bill into law recognising civil unions between same-sex couples on 13 April, while another piece of legislation on gay marriage. The LGBT movement in Chile has made great advances in recent years, they now are protected by anti-discrimination laws covering employment, gay people also can serve openly in the Army, gay men are allowed to donate blood and lesbian couples can have access to in-vitro fertilisation treatments.

RELATED: Last month MOVILH was sued by Opus Dei over their ownership of the URL OpusGay.cl.

COLOMBIA: Interior Minister Vows To Soon Make Same-Sex Marriage Legal

Colombian Interior Minister Juan Cristo yesterday vowed to soon make same-sex marriage legal. Via Gay Star News:

"The government supports the fight for equality and we will adopt measures providing equal marriage rights for all," Cristo said at the Andes University in Bogota on Thursday, as reported by Efe. He said he would not submit to the mercy of the majority on matters related to human rights, as 'respect for equal rights is not optional'. In July 2011, Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled Congress had two years to legalize same-sex marriage or an equivalent of marriage. As Congress failed to mass a marriage equality bill, the courts began approving marriages themselves. But then, the country's Inspector General requested the Court invalidate all the marriages approved in Colombia. Only 30 same-sex couples were given a license.

Cristo claims that Colombia's leading political party, the National Unity Coalition, is behind him. The party presently holds 60 out of 266 seats in the national legislature.

RELATED: In South America same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Civil unions or partnership laws exist in Chile*, Colombia, and Ecuador. No relationship recognitions presently exist in Bolivia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru**, Suriname, or Venezuela. (*In April the Chilean government formally dropped its opposition to same-sex marriage. **In March the Peruvian Congress rejected a civil unions bill.)

PERU: Thousands Rally For Civil Unions

Thousands of Peruvians rallied in Lima's Plaza San Martin on Saturday following last week's rejection of a civil unions bill by the national legislature.

(Via Andres Duque)

PERU: Congress Rejects Civil Unions

Translation: "Civil unions: rejected. It's a shame to see how homophobia takes power in Congress. Let's show our outrage on the streets! Everyone to Plaza San Martin now!"

CHILE: Government To Formally End Its Opposition To Same-Sex Marriage

Just last month the Chilean Congress issued its final approval for civil unions. And yesterday the government reached an agreement to formally drop its opposition to a pending same-sex marriage lawsuit. Michael Lavers reports at the Washington Blade:

Members of President Michelle Bachelet’s administration on Tuesday met with representatives of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, an LGBT advocacy group, in Santiago, the Chilean capital, to finalize “an amicable settlement” in the case filed in 2012 on behalf of three same-sex couples who are seeking marriage rights in the South American country.

The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation in a press release it posted to its website said the government’s decision to end opposition to nuptials for gays and lesbians in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights case is part of a broader agreement that includes the introduction of a same-sex marriage bill in the Chilean Congress.

“We left the meeting very satisfied,” said the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation. “We appreciate the government’s good disposition towards our proposals and principles, which stress that marriage equality is a human rights issue.” The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation on its website said the group and the government will sign a formal agreement in April. It remains unclear when the Bachelet administration and the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation will formally introduce the same-sex marriage bill in the Chilean Congress.

Elsewhere in South America same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Civil unions or partnership laws exist Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. A civil unions bill is due to be heard in Peru next month. No relationship recognitions presently exist in Bolivia, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, or Venezuela.

CHILE: Civil Unions Are Now Law

Via the Washington Blade:

A bill that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions in Chile on Wednesday received final approval in the South American country’s Congress. The Chilean Senate approved the measure by a 25-6 vote margin with three abstentions. The bill passed in the country’s House of Representatives by a 78-9 vote margin. “A historic step against discrimination and for the advancement of human rights has taken place today with the passage of the civil unions bill,” said the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBT advocacy group, in a statement. President Michelle Bachelet has said she will sign the bill — under which unmarried heterosexual couples would also receive legal recognition — into law. Bachelet’s spokesperson, Álvaro Elizalde, on his Twitter page described Tuesday as a “historic day” in Chile.

(Tipped by JMG reader Eduardo)

CHILE: Civil Unions Near Final Hurdle

Last night Chile's Chamber of Deputies overwhelmingly approved a civil unions bill with a vote of 86-23.  Two weeks ago the Chilean Senate approved the bill with a 28-6 vote after which anti-gay protesters had to be forcibly ejected from the gallery. The bill must now return to the Senate for another vote as the Deputies last night approved an amendment regarding parental rights. The bill also appears to legalize the recognition of foreign same-sex marriages, unless Google Translate is deceiving me. Readers?

UPDATE: JMG reader Douglas clarifies: "The bill does appear to recognize foreign marriages, but it is not clear at what level they will be recognized; it sounds like such marriages will only be given the same status as Civil Unions in Chile (with whatever restrictions might apply)."

CHILE: Pols To Introduce Marriage Bill

A multi-party coalition of Chilean lawmakers say they plan to introduce a same-sex marriage bill next week. Via Gay Star News:

The MPs, from the Christian Democrats, Socialist Party, Party for Democracy and Amplitude movement, say they expect the bill to go to the Congress on Wednesday or Thursday and hope that the Government of Michelle Bachelet will back the reform. Bachelet said she supported same-sex couples being allowed to marry prior to her re-election in March of this year but her government is yet to address the issue – though a bill which would have created civil unions for gay couples was passed by the Senate this year. That bill has yet to be voted on by the Chamber of Deputies though, and Bachelet has been promising legal recognition for same-sex couples since before her first term as president in 2006. Christian Democrat deputy Gabriel Silber told MDZ Online that it was important that "equal feelings, must have equal rights - there is no reason to have first and second class citizens."

Same-sex marriage is legal in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Civil unions are recognized in Colombia and Ecuador.

COLOMBIA: Constitutional Court Grants Limited Adoption Rights To Gay Couples

Progress in Colombia:

The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that a lesbian woman,could adopt her long-time partner's daughter, since the child in question was the biological child of one of the two partners. The court said Ana Leiderman, who underwent artificial insemination to conceive her daughter, and raised her with Veronica Botero, had the right to request an adoption by her partner regardless of sex. The Colombian Family Well-being Institute had earlier rejected Botero's adoption application. "The court considered that the discriminatory criterion the administrative authority had used to deny the adoption procedure ... was unacceptable in this case, which involves a consensual adoption in which the biological father or mother consents to an adoption by his or her permanent partner," magistrate Luis Ernesto Vargas said. However, the ruling does not not allow gay couples to adopt if neither person is the child's biological parent, and even couples covered by the ruling will have to meet certain conditions, such as having lived together for at least two years.

Local experts hope the ruling sets the stage for expanding adoption rights to all same-sex couples. (Tipped by JMG reader Steven)

Ecuador Recognizes LGBT Relationships

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa has announced that LGBT citizens will be able to register their relationships with the federal government.

"The LGBT community have the constitutional right to register on their union," Correa said during his weekly report. Previously, the Ecuadoran Civil Registry did not recognize these unions because they had no legal status according to law, however Correa said that from now on this right has to be respected and if denied, the authorities will take action on the matter. However, Correa said that although he supports these unions, he don't support gay marriage, which according to him corresponds to the union between a man and a woman. But he said he is committed to guarantee the rights of all Ecuadorans. Correa, a Catholic leftist, has expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage and adoption of children by gay couples in previous occasions. The Ecuadoran Constitution grants equal rights to "cohabitation partnerships" regardless if they are civil or Catholic marriages, so the LGBT community gains more legal recognition with this legislation.

Same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples or individuals remains banned in the national constitution.

Colombian President Endorses Marriage

"Marriage between homosexuals to me is perfectly acceptable and what’s more I am defending unions that exist between two people of the same sex with the rights and all of the same privileges that this union should receive. If these unions are called marriage or not is secondary to me. For me it is important that they have their rights. - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, speaking with El Tiempo. Santos faces a runoff election to hold office next month. Elsewhere in South America, same-sex marriage is presently legal in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.

PERU: Evangelist Michael Brown Exports Anti-Gay Hatred To South America

Jeremy Hooper reports for GLAAD:

The sad trend of American anti-LGBT activists traveling across the globe in order to "warn" them from making the pro-LGBT "mistakes" of America continues. The latest example comes from Peru, where vehemently anti-LGBT activist Michael Brown recently spoke to local members of congress, as well as passed out copies of his propaganda book, A Queer Thing Happened to America. This new trend is chilling, frankly. From Jamaica to France to Russia, and many map stops in between, a who's who of American anti-LGBT activists, feeling defeated and increasingly marginalized here at home, are seizing the chance to stir the pot in any nation that might be willing to see them as soothsayers. It is, to the letter, the strategy we saw in Uganda a handful of years ago, when Scott Lively and other Americans started dropping into the nation and telling locals how downright awful we LGBT Americans are. We all know how that one played out.

Post by AskDrBrown.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Michael Brown claims gay activists want Christians thrown into prison. Michael Brown claims that Hillary Clinton is controlled by Satanic homosexuals. Michael Brown claims that the Bible is 100% true except for the parts he doesn't like. Michael Brown leads a hate march of hundreds of Christians to disrupt Charlotte's gay pride parade. Michael Brown debuts his book with a video using small children to ridicule gay families. Michael Brown claims he's "honored" to be featured on the SPLC's "hit list." Michael Brown claims he's "outraged" to be featured on the SPLC's "hit list." Michael Brown denounces the "vulgar" post labels on JMG.

CHILE: Civil Unions Advance

In its first session of 2014, yesterday the Chilean Senate advanced its civil unions bill. The Santiago Times reports:

Senators voted in favor of the Life Partner Agreement (AVP) late Tuesday evening with 28 votes in favor, six against and two abstentions. The bill will now pass to a constitutional assembly before returning to Congress on Jan. 20. The country’s leading LGBTQ organization hailed the outcome as significant step toward passing a law which “the majority of the country” wants. “We are happy for this significant progress towards bettering conditions and equality for all families, regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identification of its members,” a Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) statement read. “Today we have made one more step in the struggle for civil unions, which we began a decade ago. What was a dream is now becoming real.” Introduced to Congress in August 2011 by the administration of President Sebastián Piñera, of the center-right National Renewal (RN), the bill has endured a drawn-out two years of debate and stalling, mainly because of stiff opposition from the RN’s coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party.

A group of evangelical protesters were ejected from the Senate gallery shortly after the vote.

Chile Elects Pro-Gay Marriage President

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, that nation's first female leader, was returned to power on Sunday after stepping down in 2010 because of a rule that forbids consecutive terms. Bachelet's campaign platform included a promise to pursue same-sex marriage.

The 62-year-old Bachelet fended off center-right candidate Evelyn Matthei by winning 62 percent of a runoff vote – the highest of any candidate since Chile returned to democratic elections. “The social and political conditions are here and at last the moment has arrived,” Bachelet told supporters. “If I'm here it's because we believe that a Chile for everyone is necessary. It won't be easy, but when has it been easy to change the world?” Bachelet also campaigned on gay marriage, reiterating her supporter in several interviews. However, her center-left New Majority coalition has only a slim majority in both houses and a full plate.

Three South American nations currently permit same-sex marriage: Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.

Uruguay Becomes World's First Nation To Legalize Pot Sales, Growth, Usage

In what Reuters describes as a  "pioneering social experiment" that  will be watched around the globe, Uruguay yesterday became the world's first nation to completely legalize marijuana.

A government-sponsored bill approved by 16-13 votes in the Senate provides for regulation of the cultivation, distribution and consumption of marijuana and is aimed at wresting the business from criminals in the small South American nation. Backers of the law, some smoking joints, gathered near Congress holding green balloons, Jamaican flags in homage to Bob Marley and a sign saying: "Cultivating freedom, Uruguay grows." Cannabis consumers will be able to buy a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) each month from licensed pharmacies as long as they are Uruguayan residents over the age of 18 and registered on a government database that will monitor their monthly purchases.

In addition to the commercial sales, Uruguayans will be able to grow their own at home, with a limit of 480 grams per year.

Mat Staver Exports Liberty Counsel's Anti-Gay Hate To Peruvian Government

"I recently returned from Peru and it was quite an eye opening experience. I was invited there and I had an opportunity to speak to Congress and also the head of the attorneys and the head of the judiciary and the head of all the educational accrediting body as well. And one of the things that they are concerned with is that America is trying to undermine that Judeo Christian foundation, particularly the Obama administration is funding through the State Department and other ways pro-abortion initiatives, pro-LGBT initiatives, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, etcetera, and same-sex marriage initiatives.

"My message was about worldview and two different worldviews, one with God and one without God and how it makes a difference in law and policy. And then I took it down to specifics such as abortion and marriage and that these are part of God's natural created order, that there's a sanctity of human life because we are created in God's image and marriage is part of God's natural created order and it is part of the very first form of government and that we must protect those and I encouraged the Peruvians to stand strong. So after that, we got an ovation, a standing ovation there, and to my amazement then, the next part of the ceremony was they awarded me a Congressional Medal of Honor." - Hate group leader Mat Staver, getting an award from a foreign government for encouraging them to oppress their own people.

COLOMBIA: Judges Declare That Two Couples Are Married, Gov't To Appeal

Blabbeando's Andres Duque reports a development in Colombia's complicated journey towards marriage equality:

In a surprising statement released on Wednesday, Colombian attorney and long-time LGBT-rights advocate Germán Humerto Rincón Perfetti announced that a civil court judge had declared Julio Albeiro Cantor Borbón and William Alberto Castro Franco "united in civil matrimony" in a ceremony that took place on September 20th. Then today the leading national newspaper El Espectador announced in its front page that Elizabeth Castillo and Claudia Zea had joined them on Wednesday when a second civil court judge also granted them a marriage license. "I join you in a legitimate civil matrimony with all the prerogatives and rights that civil law grants you and the same obligations imposed by civil law," said the judge before the couple signed their marriage license. [snip]  Yesterday the Inspector General's office announced that it would fight to stop these marriages using a fast track appeal legal form called a "tutela". Lawyer Mauricio Albarracín argues that for a "tutela" to proceed the applicant has to prove these marriages violate a person's rights which Albarracín says will be impossible for Ordoñez to prove. The issue will probably head back to the upper courts in the future but as of this week Julio Albeiro Cantor Borbon is married to William Alberto Castro Franco and Claudia Zea is married to Elizabeth Castillo.

Hit the link for a detailed explanation of the situation.