Argentina's Quest for Marriage Equality

by Michael Jones · 2009-10-29 15:49:00 UTC
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Argentina FlagWe've got one country and six U.S. states in North America that recognize marriage equality. But on the other end of the hemisphere, wedding bells aren't necessarily ringing.

That may all be about to change, as Argentina moves forward with debate over whether to recognize marriage equality. The country's parliament is holding hearings concerning a possible change to Article 172 of Argentina's Civil Code. That may sound like drab law speak, but it could have massive implications: the hope is to change the current phrasing which recognizes marriage as only between a "man and woman," to making it so that marriage means "spouses," regardless of gender.

LGBT rights advocates are championing the change, and some of them think they have the momentum to make it a reality.

"We can't expect social equality if the state is legitimizing inequality," said Maria Rachid, president of Argentina's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Federation, in an interview with the Associated Press.

By legitimating inequality, Rachid is referring to the fact that only civil unions for same-sex couples are recognized in Argentina, and even then it's only four cities in the entire country that allow those. Here's one lesson for Argentina from places like Vermont and New Hampshire: Civil unions are separate and unequal, and they create a second-class system that treats LGBT couples different. A good number of bipartisan commissions found that to be the case here in the states, and according to Rachid, the same is proving true in Argentina.

Any decision on marriage equality in Argentina is certainly down the road. But let's not underestimate how important this could be, especially for a region that hasn't always been a hotbed of hospitality for LGBT folks. Neighboring Brazil, in fact, tends to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for LGBT people (especially for transgender people).

The debate over marriage equality in Argentina may have started in Parliament today.

(Photo courtesy of JohnSeb's photostream on Flickr.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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