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Uruguayan Pres. To Sign Gay Unions Bill
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: December 19, 2007 - 11:00 am ET

(Montevideo) Uruguay President Tabare Vazquez said Wednesday that he will sign legislation making the country the first in Latin America to allow civil unions.

The final version of the bill passed Congress on Tuesday. Initial drafts of the legislation passed the Senate earlier this year and the lower house last month.

The law will allow same and opposite-sex couples to form civil unions. Couples must have been together for at least five years and sign a registry. They would then receive pension, inheritance and parenting rights.

The measure was a campaign promise of the ruling leftist coalition.

Same-sex marriage will remain illegal in Uruguay, something LGBT rights groups say they will continue to fight. But, they say the civil union bill is a major step in the right direction in a region where the Catholic Church dominates much of everyday life.

The church fought the legislation from the onset and said Wednesday it will continue to fight any attempt to legalize same-sex marriage.

In neighboring Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul state which lies along the border, passed civil union legislation in 2004, two years after Buenos Aires passed a similar law. Civil unions also are legal in Mexico City and Coahuila state.

Earlier this year lawmakers in Colombia passed legislation giving same-sex couples most of the same rights as opposite-sex married couples and a week later killed it in a procedural move by conservative senators. (story)