Uruguay: Marriage Equality Approved
Uruguay: Marriage Equality Approved
Same-Sex Marriage Law is a Win for Fundamental Rights
April 2, 2013
(New York) – The Uruguay Senate, in approving a bill on April 2, 2013, to legalize same-sex marriage, has moved to guarantee marriage equality and diminish discrimination, Human Rights Watch said. The vote was 23 to 8. Uruguay would be the 12th country to approve same-sex marriage nationwide.
The lower house of Uruguay’s legislature voted in December 2012 to legalize same-sex marriage. The Senate bill included some modifications, including a measure to raise the minimum age for marriage to 16 for everyone, instead of the present age 12 for girls and 14 for boys. Human Rights Watch urges all countries to eliminate child marriage and to adopt 18 as a minimum age for marriage for both sexes.
“Uruguayan senators made the right decision by allowing same-sex couples to marry,” said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “Final approval will enable gays and lesbians in Uruguay to marry the person they love and will strengthen the fundamental rights of everyone in Uruguay to equality and non-discrimination.”
The modified law will most likely be discussed and voted upon by the lower house later in April. It is anticipated that the law will pass and that the first same-sex marriages could take place in July or August. The lower house should move to pass this bill swiftly, Human Rights Watch said.
More:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/02/uruguay-marriage-equality-approved
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