Uruguay about to legalizing gay marriage

[FreeState]

Marriage equality is coming fast to North and South America.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/uruguay-congress-voting-gay-marriage-0

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Lawmakers in taboo-breaking Uruguay voted to legalize gay marriage late Tuesday night, approving a single law governing marriage for heterosexuals and homosexuals.

The proposal now goes to the Senate, where the ruling coalition has enough votes for passage. President Jose Mujica plans to sign it into law early next year.

The proposal, which passed the lower house of Congress by a wide margin Tuesday, would also let all couples, gay or straight, decide whose surname goes first when they name their children.

That breaks with a tradition that has held for centuries across Latin America, where in nearly every country, laws require people to give their children two last names, and the father's comes first.

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2012/12/12/uruguay-lawmakers-approve-same-sex-marriage-bill/

Uruguay, which has allowed gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions since 2009, would become the second South American country after neighboring Argentina to allow same-sex marriage.

Gays and lesbians have been able to legally marry in Mexico City since 2010, while Ecuador allows civil unions for same-sex couples.

Same-sex couples in Colombia will automatically receive full marriage rights in June if the country’s lawmakers do not act upon a court ruling that orders them to legislate the matter. A Colombian Senate committee last week approved a measure that would legalize nuptials for gays and lesbians.

The Mexican Supreme Court on Dec. 5 unanimously struck down a law in the state of Oaxaca that banned nuptials for gays and lesbians after three same-sex couples tried to apply for marriage licenses. Local advocates and observers expect the decision will eventually lead to same-sex marriage across Mexico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage

Eleven countries (Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden) allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide. Same-sex marriages are also performed and recognized in Mexico City, Quintana Roo, and parts of the United States; in Brazil, civil unions may be converted into marriage. Some jurisdictions that do not perform same-sex marriages but recognize it being performed elsewhere include: Israel, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, Rhode Island in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and, in at least one case, Uruguay. Australia recognizes same-sex marriages only if one partner has had gender reassignment therapy.

[jberryhill]

1. Wouldn't that make them a Paraguays?

I only saw a part of this report on the news and I was hoping to see the full Montevideo.