Gay Marriage Approved by Senate in Argentina

Thursday marked another giant step forward in the global fight for gay rights as Argentina's Senate voted and passed a law to allow same-sex marriages. Passed by a narrow margin of 6 votes (33-to-27), the new law surpasses what has become a more common allowance of civil unions for same-sex couples in the region, granting gay couples all the same rights shared by married couples of the opposite sex.

While the Roman Catholic Church has historically been deeply involved in Argentina's affairs of state, this vote looks past the pulpit and toward broadening the arena of human rights.

Other countries have led the way for Argentina on the path to allowing same-sex marriage, and a list of those that have previously approved gay marriage includes Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and South Africa. The vote puts increased pressure on nations that have not made allowance for same-sex marriage in their legislation to re-examine their stance, and it is expected that more countries will follow suit.

Here in the United States, where the gay rights movement has been a point of debate at all local, state and national levels, voters will surely use Argentina's decision as a major talking point in upcoming campaigns. While the national government has not yet enacted legislation to allow equal rights for gay couples to those currently enjoyed by straight couples, several states have independently voted to allow gay marriage rights. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont, as well as Washington D.C., all have begun licensing same-sex marriages. As the debate of marital equality continues, it is likely that more states will be added to that list in the future.

As a country that has worked slowly to allow all of its citizens equal rights over the last 150 years, it will undoubtedly take some time for the United States to finalize a decision in favor of the right to marry for gays. However, that timeframe will likely diminish as more countries make this ground-breaking decision and as fresh faces enter the political scene.

Canada's decision in 2005 to become the fourth country in the world to recognize a legal marriage bond between same-sex couples and the continuation of those rights without revocation over the last five years, has helped to dispel many of the fears shared by conservatives in the United States and other developed countries. The decision by Canada in 2005, and this week in Argentina, has spurred a debate on an international level as to what really makes a marriage, and, in a broader scope, has forced us to re-evaluate what constitutes a happy and healthy family unit.

While globally the practice of same-sex marriage is not yet widely accepted, Argentina's decision to align itself with the ideals of acceptance and equality brings the issue of gay rights back into the forefront of voters' minds as we prepare to decide on future leaders and law-makers. It is difficult to predict how soon these principles will be adopted on a global scale, but we are surely one step closer to that end than we were prior to the Argentinean Senate's decision.

Source:

Alexei Barrionuevo, "Argentina Approves Gay Marriage, in a First for Region," www.nytimes.com

"Q&A: Argentina Gay Marriage Law," www.bbc.co.uk

Kathy Belge, "Gay Marriage - Where Can Gays Legally Marry?", www.About.com

Keith L. Alexander and Ann E. Marimow, "D.C. Begins Licensing Same-Sex Marriages", www.washingtonpost.com

Jay Makarenko, "Same-Sex Marriage in Canada", www.mapleleafweb.com