World
Uruguay lawmakers approve same-sex marriage bill
The country’s Senate is expected to debate the measure next year
A rainbow flag hung outside the Uruguayan Congress ahead of Tuesday’s same-sex marriage vote. (Photo courtesy of Carolina Poggi/Colectivo Ovejas Negras)
Uruguayan lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the South American country.
The measure passed in the country’s House of Representatives by an 81-6 vote margin more than six hours after lawmakers began debating it.
Deputy Gerardo Amarilla cited what he described as “isolated terrorists that cry homophobia before any dissenting opinion” before claiming the same-sex marriage law would further undermine the family. The Associated Press reported Deputy Anibel Gloodtdofsky of the right-wing Colorado Party was among those who planned to vote in support of the measure.
“We are ending decades of institutionalized discrimination from the state,” Deputy Nicolás Núñez said as he spoke in support of the proposal.
The Uruguayan Senate is widely expected to pass the same-sex marriage bill once it reconvenes in March. President José Mujica has said he plans to sign the measure into law.
“Today, we are a step further of becoming a more democratic and just society,” Álvaro Queiruga of the LGBT advocacy group Colectivo Ovejas Negras said. Activists and other supporters of the measure celebrated its passage in a square in front of the Uruguayan Congress in Montevideo, the country’s capital, as he spoke to the Washington Blade from Toronto where he is currently visiting family. “The LGBT population will no longer be denied an essential right such as this one. We are very happy today, and this will empower us to continue our fight for a better Uruguay without second class citizens due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Uruguay, which has allowed gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions since 2009, would become the second South American country after neighboring Argentina to allow same-sex marriage.
Gays and lesbians have been able to legally marry in Mexico City since 2010, while Ecuador allows civil unions for same-sex couples.
Same-sex couples in Colombia will automatically receive full marriage rights in June if the country’s lawmakers do not act upon a court ruling that orders them to legislate the matter. A Colombian Senate committee last week approved a measure that would legalize nuptials for gays and lesbians.
The Mexican Supreme Court on Dec. 5 unanimously struck down a law in the state of Oaxaca that banned nuptials for gays and lesbians after three same-sex couples tried to apply for marriage licenses. Local advocates and observers expect the decision will eventually lead to same-sex marriage across Mexico.
Even though Uruguay is poised to become the 12th country to legalize same-sex marriage, Queiruga reiterated his group will continue to advocate on behalf of LGBT Uruguayans.
He noted the country has been on the “vanguard” of progressive social legislation in Latin America and the world in regards to divorce, workers’ rights and other issues. A non-discrimination law that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression took effect in 2004.
“This is the last major law that was needed to be approved for the LGBT population,” Queiruga told the Blade, noting Uruguay already has same-sex adoption, anti-transgender discrimination and civil unions laws. “We are very happy. We’ll definitely empower to continue fighting for other rights we have happens throughout the world. The trans population is most vulnerable. In Uruguay it’s no exception. This year five trans people were murdered because of their identity, so we are going to continue fighting for our rights.”
Egypt
Egyptian authorities refuse to allow gay cruise to dock in country
Scarlet Lady earlier this week blocked from visiting Turkey
Egyptian authorities have refused to allow a gay cruise to dock in the country.
The Scarlet Lady, a Virgin Voyages ship that Atlantis Events chartered, was to have docked in Alexandria, a port city on the Mediterranean Sea. The Washington Blade obtained a letter that Atlantis Events President Rich Campbell sent to passengers on Thursday, hours before the cruise was to have arrived.
“Early this morning, we were informed that Scarlet Lady has been denied entry into Egyptian waters and, as a result, will no longer be able to call in Alexandria today,” he wrote.
“I know how much this visit meant to so many of you,” added Campbell. “We successfully sailed a similar itinerary last year, so we were surprised by this unfortunate decision.”
Campbell noted “both the Atlantis and Virgin Voyages teams worked tirelessly to make this call in Alexandria a possibility.”
“This news came as a surprise to all of us, and we’re just as disappointed as you are,” he said.
The 10-day cruise left Athens on July 5. It is scheduled to end in Trieste, Italy, on July 15.
The ship had been scheduled to dock in Kusadasi, a Turkish resort town on the Aegean Sea, and Istanbul earlier this week. Turkish authorities refused to allow it in the country.
Former Tempe, Ariz., Mayor Neil Giuliano, who is an LGBTQ+ Victory Institute board member, is among those on the cruise.
“Just a few hours before arriving in Alexandria, Egypt — a city founded by and named for one of the ancient world’s best-known homosexuals — government authorities rescinded permission for our ship of 2,000 gay men to enter Egypt,” wrote Steve May, who is also on the ship, on Thursday in a Facebook post.
Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 331 B.C.
“As with Turkey, we have been sent away not because of what we did, but because of who we said we are,” said May. “‘I am what I am’ is too much liberty for some to bear. So it was in the United States as well not long ago, where even I ended up as a convicted homosexual after a military trial in 2001 for saying ‘I am gay.’ This is just a reminder that for all the progress we have made, our freedom is never secure — for any of us, regardless of who or how we love. Back to Europe!”
Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt. The Egyptian Football Association, along with the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, objected to playing in the World Cup’s “Pride Match” that took place in Seattle on June 26.
Netherlands
Dutch prime minister scheduled to open World Pride human rights conference
Rob Jetten is country’s first openly gay head of government
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten is scheduled to open this year’s World Pride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam.
Organizers in a July 1 press release said Jetten will open the conference on Aug. 5. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema; South African Deputy Minister for Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities Steve Letsike; former Venezuelan National Assemblywoman Tamara Adrián; and Graeme Reid, the independent U.N. expert on LGBTQ and intersex issues, are among those who are also expected to participate in the gathering that will end on Aug. 7.
Jetten, 39, in February became the Netherlands’s first openly gay prime minister.
His centrist D66 party won the country’s elections last October. Geert Wilders’s far-right Party for Freedom narrowly lost.
Jetten took office after he formed a coalition government that includes the center-right Christian Democrats and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
World Pride will take place in Amsterdam from July 25-Aug. 8.
Turkey
Turkish authorities refuse to allow gay cruise to dock in country
Atlantis Events-chartered ship included stops in Kusadasi, Istanbul
Update: Egyptian authorities on Wednesday blocked the ship from docking in Alexandria, a port city on the Mediterranean.
Turkish authorities have refused to allow a gay cruise to dock in the country.
The Scarlet Lady, a Virgin Voyages ship that Atlantis Events chartered, departed Athens on Sunday. The 10-day cruise is scheduled to end in Trieste, Italy, on July 15.
The ship had been scheduled to dock in Kusadasi, a Turkish resort town on the Aegean Sea, on Tuesday. It was then slated to sail to Istanbul on Wednesday.
Officials in Aydin Province in which Kusadasi is located on June 28 posted a statement on X that confirmed the decision not to allow the Scarlet Lady to dock in Turkey.
Authorities noted the “groups” behind the cruise are “known for behaviors that do not align with the structure of our society and our moral values.” The June 28 statement also says the scheduled docking “caused great discomfort in various segments of our society.”
BASIN AÇIKLAMASI
Basın yayın organları ve sosyal medya platformlarında gündeme gelen, toplumumuzun yapısıyla ve ahlaki değerlerimizle örtüşmeyen davranışlarıyla bilinen gruplarca kiralanan bir kruvaziyer gemisinin 7 Temmuz 2026 tarihinde Aydın Kuşadası Limanınına planlamış… pic.twitter.com/MHqN0NoXHI
— T.C. Aydın Valiliği (@AydinValiligi) June 28, 2026
Atlantis Events in a statement on its website said the company has “been informed by the Turkish authorities that Atlantis will not be permitted to dock in Kusadasi or Istanbul during this voyage.”
“As a result, we have had to alter our sailing itinerary somewhat,” it reads.
The statement notes the cruise will now stop in Alexandria, Egypt, and Crete.
“Both ports have excellent opportunities for exploration and enjoyment and have been favorites of ours for years,” it reads.
(Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt. The Egyptian Football Association, along with the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, objected to playing in the World Cup’s “Pride Match” that took place in Seattle on June 26.)
Patti LuPone, who is performing on the cruise, sharply criticized the Turkish government over its decision.
“The Atlantis cruise I am performing on next week, has been banned from entering Turkey,” she said on her Facebook page on July 2. “A ship — a magnificent ship — full of well-heeled gay men. And me. Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board. I am furious, but I am sailing, as the ship will make other ports of call. I am ready to perform for all the wonderful men on this Atlantis cruise, who deserve so much better than this.”
Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell told the Washington Post that his company’s cruises have visited Turkey more than a dozen times over the last two decades.
“We’re there to shop, be great tourists, spend money,” he said. “It’s always a culturally respectful group.”
Campbell further noted Turkey could lose at least $1 million in tourism revenue over its decision.
“The bigger damage to Turkey is when you start picking and choosing who’s allowed to enter, and your economy depends on tourism, you’re creating a standoff between tourists and yourself,” he told the Post. “And you run the risk of alienating a lot of potential tourists.”
The Washington Blade on Monday reached out to Campbell for additional comment.
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