Lawmakers Approve Marriage Equality in Chile
Country becomes 31st in the world to allow LGBTQ couples to marry
BY MATT TRACY
Lawmakers in Chile overwhelmingly
voted to approve
a marriage equality
bill on December 7,
capping off a four-year political
standoff and ushering in a new era
for the LGBTQ community in the
South American nation.
The legislation passed both
houses of Congress and President
Sebastián Piñera signed it nto law.
Piñera opted to support the bill
after previously opposing it, paving
the way for legislation that had
stalled for years after former President
Michelle Bachelet fi rst introduced
it in 2017.
The measure gives LGBTQ
couples the right to have children
through adoption or assisted reproduction
and removes a requirement
that transgender or non-binary
people must divorce in order
A reaction to marriage equality in the Senate chamber in Valparaiso, Chile on December 7, 2021.
for the government to recognize
their gender identity or legal name
changes. The law is a major step up
from an existing law that gave couples
the right to enter civil unions,
but lacked parenting rights or updates
for transgender individuals.
In the Senate, 21 lawmakers
approved it, eight rejected it, and
three abstained. The bill passed
REUTERS/RODRIGO GARRIDO
the lower house 82-20, with two
abstentions.
Videos posted on social media
December 7 showed people celebrating
in Santiago. An LGBTQ organization
known as Movilh Chile
hosted a rally featuring a large
crowd.
“Happiness on so many faces,”
noted a translated tweet posted by
MARRIAGE
Movilh Chile. “People’s lives change
for the better when we stop being
second-class to the laws. Nice
Chile, that’s the way you like it.”
The bill’s passage also comes at
a pivotal time in Chilean politics.
On December 19, a former student
activist, Gabriel Boric, will face
right-wing populist José Antonio
Kast in a runoff after neither candidate
received enough votes in the
initial tally last month. Kast, who
is opposed to marriage equality
but has said he would sign the bill
anyway, had the most votes in the
fi rst election. Piñera will remain in
offi ce until March.
Chile will become the 31st country
in the world and the latest in
the region to establish marriage
equality. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,
Ecuador, and Uruguay allow
for same-sex marriage, while Mexico
has marriage rights in certain
parts of the country.
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