BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — Uruguay, which already has a civil unions law, is considering a gay marriage law that would include allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, US News reports.
The measure, drafted by queer activists of the so-called Black Sheep Collective and supported by the governing Broad Front coalition, is scheduled for debate next week in the House of Deputies’ constitutional commission, the report says.
In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), collective member Federico Grana says contemporary society is “much broader than the heterosexual, and the civil code should reflect this: a marriage institution that applies equally to all.
“This goes well beyond homosexuality — it’s a law that gives all the same rights and responsibilities,” Grana adds.
If the measure is approved, Uruguay would become the second South American country, after Argentina, to legalize gay marriage.
Catholic bishop Jaime Fuentes opposes the development. “It seems logical that two people of the same sex who care for each
other and want to share their lives together can have some sort of civil
acknowledgement, but it can’t be the same as what governs marriage,”
Fuentes told AP. “Giving this kind of union the same obligations and rights
as marriage would represent serious discrimination against a married
man and woman.”
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