Gay Marriage: How Will Argentina's Decision Change Latin America?

By Sharmaine Jones

After a marathon debate of over 14 hours, its official: On Thursday (July 15), Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage. The new law grants gays and lesbians all the legal rights, responsibilities, and protections that marriage brings to heterosexual couples.

So what does the passing of this law mean for Latin America?

By defying conservative Latin American traditions about marriage and standing up to the powerful Catholic leadership, Argentina has set a standard. Last year, Mexico City became the first jurisdiction in Latin America to legalize gay marriage but Uruguay, Colombia, and parts of Brazil are still limited to civil unions.

Argentina's decision could be the spark that lights an international movement to allow the freedom for all to marry – based on nothing other than love for one another.

"We're now a fairer, more democratic society. This is something we should all celebrate," Maria Rachid, a leading gay rights activist, said to Yahoo! News as supporters of the law hugged each other and jumped up and down after the vote.

"The law not only recognizes the rights of our families, but also the possibility of having access to health care, to leave a pension, to leave our assets to the people with whom we have shared many years of life, including our children," she continued.

According to the Associated Press, gay activists in neighboring Chile hope Argentina's milestone will improve chances for a gay-marriage law currently in committee in their own Congress.

"Argentina's political class has provided a lesson to the rest of Latin America," said Rolando Jimenez in the Chilean capital, Santiago. "We hope our own countries and political parties will learn that the human rights of sexual minorities are undeniable."

Gay marriage was strongly supported by Argentinian President Christina Fernandez and the Senate voted 33-27 (3 abstaining votes) on the matter, which will take effect within days.

A gay couple kisses outside Argentina's congress during a rally on July 14

Just don't expect everyone in Argentina to support upcoming wedding celebrations, as responses have been mixed.

The Roman Catholic Church fought the proposal tooth and nail, organizing a 60,000 person march on congress. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, leader of the campaign, rationalized his actions by saying “children need to have the right to be raised by a father and a mother.”

Other more “lenient” folks from the opposing side proposed a civil-union law that would have barred gays from adopting or undergoing in-vitro fertilization to have children, and enabled any civil servant to “conscientiously object” to register gay couples.

Despite this victory for gay couples in Argentina and their allies, the fight for equal rights still has a long way to go. There are at least 78 countries or territories in which homosexuality is illegal, 6 countries in which it is punishable by death (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan).

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Tags Argentina, Christina Fernandez, Gay Marriage, Latin America, Latinos and Politics, Tr3s