Latin America's Support for Same-Sex Marriage
Latin America's Support for Same-Sex Marriage
Argentina is the region’s first country to legalize gay marriage, but tolerance is not as high across countries. Here’s why.
Joining South Africa, Canada and seven European countries, Argentina has now extended the full rights of marriage to gays and lesbians nationwide. The law, signed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on July 21, 2010, means that civil registries can now process marriage licenses for gay couples with the first ceremony set for August 13 in Buenos Aires.
But gay marriage is also the subject of intense discussion across the Americas. Disputes are marked by sharply conflicting opinions among citizens, social organizations, religious groups, the highly influential Catholic Church, and policymakers. In Latin America, these debates have led to outcomes that vary sharply across countries.
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Germán Lodola is at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and the University of Pittsburgh and Margarita Corral is at Vanderbilt University.
