Tag: gay puerto rico

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla signs LGBT rights bills into law

‘We are all the same and we must be equal under the law’ The governor of Puerto Rico signed bills into law on Wednesday (29 May) that protect LGBT people against discrimination and adds to the country’s domestic violence law protections for sexual orientation, marital status and gender identity. Governor Alejandro García Padilla signed the… Read more »

Puerto Rico approves anti-discrimination bill in push for more gay rights

San Juan, Puerto Rico — Legislators in Puerto Rico on Friday approved a heavily debated bill that outlaws employment discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Opponents of the bill prayed on the steps of the seaside Capitol building as lawmakers voted on a simplified version of the measure, which was widely rejected by religious… Read more »

Anti-gay marriage protest takes place in Puerto Rico

Hundreds of people have marched through the capital of Puerto Rico to demand that the governor approve a constitutional amendment banning equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The protesters walked from the US territory’s seaside capitol building to the governor’s mansion in historic Old San Juan on Saturday. AP reports it is the second such… Read more »

Puerto Rico’s Gay Rights Battle Gets Momentum

Carmen Milagros Velez Vega and her partner have a 12-year-old daughter that Velez gave birth to—a child she considers “…our daughter. She is not my daughter.” Yet, despite Velez’s 25-year-long relationship, Puerto Rican courts refuse to allow her partner to legally adopt their child. Her partner is a woman. Velez is a professor at the… Read more »

Puerto Rico to have new hate crime laws to protect gays

Outgoing Secretary of Justice promises new rules and new Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla pledges to tackle anti-gay violence Puerto Rico’s LGBT community may be a step closer to being protected from killings, assaults and other hate crimes. The departing Secretary of Justice, Guillermo Somoza has said new rules would be put in place for hate… Read more »

Orlando Cruz becomes boxing’s first openly gay man

Featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz, from Puerto Rico, has become the first openly gay man in the sport’s history, describing himself Wednesday as a “proud gay man.” Cruz (18-2-1, 9 KOs), the No. 4-ranked featherweight by the WBO, said, “I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want… Read more »

Puerto Rico Hate Crime Law Would Exclude LGBTs Despite High Number Of Gay Murders

Two years ago, on a desolate street in central Puerto Rico, a gay 19-year-old named Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was savagely killed: decapitated, dismembered, and burned. As of last month, his murder had still not been investigated as a hate crime — a fact LGBT activists say reflects the failure of Puerto Rico’s justice system… Read more »