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 -Published: Tuesday, October 22, 2019- Deputies
reject same-sex marriage bill
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The deputies that make up the Special Permanent Commission on Human Rights rejected unanimously File No. 20,888 entitled Civil Union Law for Same-Sex Couples. The commission president said that the measure did not adhere to the resolution of the Constitutional Chamber or the declaration of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Deputy Enrique Sánchez, who headed the commission, said that this plan created different categories of people and couples, therefore lawmakers considered it discriminatory and unconstitutional. “It is a bill on which all the hearings and consultations that were held were negative, precisely because it did not adhere to the mandate of the Constitutional Chamber. It was time for this commission to make a decision that the file could not continue to polarize a debate that is already resolved by constitutional means,” said Sanchez. Sánchez said that in May 2020 the articles that prevent marriage between same-sex couples expire because what the court had indicated is that there are other laws that have articles that are conceived under the logic of heterosexual couples and not in the Family Code, so the option is to modify those items or they will simply be repealed automatically in practice next year. “If we do not make the reform before May, what has to happen is that the Supreme Electoral Court makes a resolution that resolves precisely how the surnames will be distributed and thus in some laws, which do not have a direct effect on the implementation of marriage, but in practice,” said Sánchez. According to Sánchez, the bill that was being analyzed was rejected because, on May 26, 2020, the articles that prevented same-sex marriage will be repealed. Also, as of that date, marriages that are already registered are automatically effective, he said. President Carlos Alvarado announced the signing of six decrees and guidelines to guarantee the gay community equality and parity of rights without any discrimination, as A.M. Costa Rica previously reported last December. Alvarado said that the decrees are a result of the combined work of “organizations and civil society and the commissioner's effort to give concrete answers to the LGBT population. As a government, our commitment is to settle a historic debt and guarantee respect for this population." LGBT is an acronym that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. The first decree allows notaries to register same-sex marriages at the Civil Registry. The second decree guarantees the access of the LGBT population to family housing bonds. This guideline is aimed at the National Homes Loans Bank to enable these couples access, on equal terms, to family housing bonuses and credit programs of the National Housing Financial System. The third decree is the recognition of migratory rights to the LGBT population. This measure will regulate the recognition of migratory rights by the General Directorate of Migration and Immigration derived from unions formed by same-sex couples, either through marriage or de facto bond duly recognized in any foreign legislation. This right allows temporary residences, permanent residences, special categories or any other process of migratory regulation of foreigners who are in the national territory to be recognized. The fourth decree is the declaration of national interest of the Protocol of Comprehensive Care of Trans People for hormones in the health services network. This protocol aims to provide comprehensive care to transgender individuals so that they can get the treatments prescribed by a specialist, with safety and due quality, to have a full life. The fifth decree is for the recognition of the right to sexual identity and gender for foreigners in the Immigration and Identity Document for Foreigners (DIMEX) issued by Migration, according to their own sexual and gender identity. The sixth decree is to declare May 17 as the "National Day against Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia." The title of the decree is modified to include biphobia as one of the forms of discrimination. Homophobia is hate directed at homosexuals, lesbophobia is hate of lesbian, biphobia is hate of bisexual people, and transphobia is hate directed at transgender individuals. ------------------------ Have you heard of a same-sex couple who got married in Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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