Rather than accepting the government’s legal reasoning for rejecting their marriage application, one gay couple in Ecuador is challenging both the Constitution and the Civil Code on their road to marriage equality
A rejection from the government will not stop this gay Ecuadorian couple from obtaining a marriage certificate.
Santiago Vinces, 23, and Fernando Saltos, 27, submitted their marriage application on 26 November anticipating the government would reject them.
The couple said last week they would file a counter-suit and take their case to the Inter-American Court for Human Rights should the government not move their marriage application forward.
While Ecuador allows same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, same-sex marriages are still illegal.
Article 67 in the Constitution and Article 81 of the Civil Code both define marriage as between a man and a woman.
In the official statement released 29 November, the governmental entity responsible for filing the gay couple’s application said: ‘In order to continue with the process, the applicants prior to the celebration of a civil matrimony must fulfill the requirements established by the Constitution.’
Prior to submitting their marriage application to the Civil Registry last week, the couple walked hand-in-hand through several streets in Guayaquil, followed by a procession of friends, attorneys and supports.
According to local news outlets, they are the second known same-sex couple to apply for a marriage certificate in Ecuador.
Pamela Troya y Gabriela Correa applied for a marriage certificate and were rejected on 5 August in Quito.
by Jean Paul Zapata
Source – Gay Star News
