Conservative lawmakers in Costa Rica are attempting to block a ruling legalizing same-sex marriage from taking effect on Tuesday.
Costa Rica’s constitutional court in 2018 struck down the nation’s ban on gay and lesbian couples marrying. The court’s majority opinion gave lawmakers 18 months to change the law. Otherwise its ruling would take effect on May 26 of this year.
President Carlos Alvarado Quesada welcomed the ruling, saying at the time that he wants to guarantee “no person will face discrimination for their sexual orientation.”
The high court said that it was bound by a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) which called for marriage equality in over 20 Latin American countries under its jurisdiction, including Costa Rica.
According to Reuters, more than 20 conservative lawmakers on Tuesday attempted to delay the ruling another 18 months, arguing that other issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, had kept legislators from reviewing the decision.
Enrique Sanchez, Costa Rica’s first openly gay congressman, called the push “a shameful spectacle.”
Sanchez said that there was little chance that conservatives would prevail in delaying implementation of the court’s order.
“It gives me peace of mind that this will possibly die from tomorrow, and there will be no going back,” Sanchez said.
A poll conducted in 2018 by the University of Costa Rica showed low support (30%) for marriage equality among Costa Ricans.
by Carlos Santoscoy
Source – On Top Magazine
