Chile’s leading gay rights advocate has filed a lawsuit seeking marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in Chile.
The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) presented what it describes as the first-of-its-kind case to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Monday, The Santiago Times reported.
The group claims that denying gay people the right to marry violates several parts of the American Convention of Human Rights.
Alberto Roa, general secretary of Movilh, called the lawsuit “unprecedented.”
“We are demanding the legalization of marriage and civil union, not just because we all want to get married. This is a matter of equality for all,” Roa told the paper.
A recent poll found a majority of Chileans support the legalization of gay marriage.
President Sebastian Pinera last year proposed legislation which would legalize civil unions in Chile, though Congress has yet to consider the bill.
“While the president still doesn’t support gay marriage, he does support civil unions and we respect his move on the bill,” Roa said. “This was very important for us because it prompted people on the left to support gay marriage itself, due to the fact that a right-wing president sent such a liberal proposal for a bill.”
by On Top Magazine Staff
Source – On Top Magazine
