Uruguay this week celebrated the first anniversary of marriage equality.
According to the Civil Registry of Montevideo, which half of the nation’s 3.3 million citizens call home, 134 gay and lesbian couples have tied the knot since a marriage law approved by lawmakers took effect on August 5, 2013.
However, Attorney Michelle Suarez, a legal adviser to LGBT rights advocate Ovejas Negras (Black Sheep) and the nation’s first openly transgender person to practice law, said the figure is “almost double” when the entire nation is considered.
The law’s significance is not only legal, she explained, but “it’s also a very important cultural and social change for Uruguay.”
“We have made progress,” she said. “Uruguayan society is now more fair and equal. This represents a breakthrough as a country, but much remains to be done.”
Uruguay, which previously recognized gay couples with civil unions, is only the third South American nation to allow gay couples to marry. Argentina approved a law in 2010, while court victories in Brazil have effectively given gay couples the right to marry there.
by On Top Magazine Staff
Source – On Top Magazine
