Homo Uruguay Embraces Marriage Equality
posted by on April 18 at 8:57 AM
Uruguay on Thursday became the first nation in Latin America to marry a gay couple, after a law allowing couples living together to formalize their union went into effect at the start of the year…. The so-called “cohabitation union law” went into effect on January 1, allowing heterosexual and homosexual couples living together for at least five years to receive the same legal rights and benefits that traditional marriage bestows.
So it’s not exactly marriage equality—basically, Uruguay allows same- or opposite-sex couples living together for at least five years to enter into civil unions that bring all the rights and responsibilities of marriage. It’s less marriage equality than it is common-law marriage with a step involving paperwork. Heteros in Uruguay, unlike homos, will have access to legal marriage; a opposite-sex couple can marry after being together for three days and enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of marriage while a gay couple that’s been together for three years can not. And that’s a huge injustice. Imagine being with someone for four years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days and having your partner suddenly die and being barred from his funeral by hostile family members.
Still, Uruguay has taken a huge step in the right direction. And while I’d rather see full marriage equality in Uruguay (and everywhere else), the ability to legally marry on drunken impulse—you know, like Britney—is a “right” that does more harm to heterosexuals than good.
And for geography-challenged Americans, here’s Uruguay….
and Montevideo is cheaper than Buenos Aires and waaaaaaaaaaaay friendlier.
I know is far from ideal, but this is HUGE deal for a Latin American country. Remember this was a hard right dictatorship led country in the 70's. The catholic church's grip is not as tight anymore.
See, good things come out of the newly elected socialist goverments.
This is 'common law' marriage. Only five years instead of seven.
At least you probably won't have to bribe anyone to get your common-law marriage certificate - Uruguay's the 2nd least corrupt country in Latin America.
It boggles my mind to see hipsters moving to noisy, stinky, crime-ridden BA when Montevideo is so much nicer.
Knock it down to three years, make it the only way for anyone to get married, and I'd support it planet-wide. Three years of tolerating somebody else living in your home is enough to prove you're serious.
A similar waiting period before reproducing would be nice, too, but alas....
U R Gay
Maybe it's not equal, but hell, this was unthinkable 20 years ago.
zzzzzzzzzzzz"A study released by the RAND Corporation reports that 300,000 U.S. troops deal with depression or post traumatic stress disorder and 320,000 suffered brain injuries stemming from their service in Iraq and Afghanistan."zzzzzzzzzz
Now, after that brief unauthorized pause, a return to entertainment by the savage warmongers at The Stranger.
montevideo is really nice, but there's quite a bit more going on in buenos aires. not surprising expats head somewhere with more activity, but that being said montevideo is fantastic if you like the smaller, sleepier kind of city.
@7:
Fuck you.
Super.
Now even Uraguay is more enlightened than Seattle.
Are you listening, super majority WA legislature?
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