Argentina could potentially become Latin America’s first nation to legalize gay marriage; according to 365gay.com, “They have a growing number of supporters in Congress, which opened debate Thursday on whether to change dozens of laws that define marriage as a union between a ‘man and woman’.”
Argentina established it’s gay-friendly reputation in 2002 when it became the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex civil union and four other Argentine cities followed suit.
Even with Argentina’s gay-friendly reputation and movement toward LGBT rights, the Roman Catholic Church is still a driving force in Argentina, where up until 1994, all presidents had to be married and Catholic. “Some Catholic and evangelical Christian groups have accused the government of trying to subvert the natural order of life, promote perversions and destroy the family as an institution.”
“We can’t expect social equality if the state is legitimizing inequality,” said Maria Rachid, president of Argentina’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Federation. “We now have the social and political context necessary to change the law.”
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-Katelynd Jarvis
