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Same-sex marriage bill introduced in Chile

Measure seeks to end ‘historic discrimination’ against gay couples

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National Congress of Chile, gay news, Washington Blade

LGBT advocates and Chilean lawmakers on Saturday introduced a same-sex marriage bill. (Photo by the Photographic Collection of the Library of the National Congress of Chile; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Chilean lawmakers and an LGBT advocacy group on Saturday introduced a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in the South American country.

The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation said in a press release the measure that it and Congressman Gabriel Silber Romo of the Christian Democratic Party have proposed would change “a man and a woman” to “two people” in Chile’s marriage law. The proposal would also replace “husband and wife” with “spouse” and amend the concept of procreation to “raise children.”

“With this bill we are looking to eradicate the historic discrimination that affects people simply for loving and living with someone of the same sex,” said the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation in its press release. “Respect for family diversity is at the heart of this bill that we celebrate with backing throughout the political world and also with the broad support of citizen organizations.”

The same-sex marriage bill’s introduction comes against the backdrop of the ongoing debate on a separate measure that would allow gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions.

The Chilean Senate in October voted to advance the measure — known by the Spanish acronym AVP that roughly translates into life partner agreement in English. Members of the Chilean House of Deputies have yet to vote on the proposal.

President Michelle Bachelet backs the bill.

She also publicly supported marriage rights for same-sex couples during her 2013 presidential campaign.

Advocates, Bachelet government discuss marriage lawsuit

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2012 ruled in favor of lesbian Judge Karen Atala who lost custody of her three daughters to her ex-husband seven years earlier because of her sexual orientation. The Chilean government subsequently apologized to Atala, paid her $70,000 and offered her medical and psychological care.

The Movement for Homosexual Liberation and Integration in 2012 filed a lawsuit with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on behalf of three Chilean gay couples seeking marriage rights. Then-President Sebastián Piñera’s government argued against what it described as the “new definition of marriage” in a brief it filed with the lawsuit in November 2013.

Members of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation and representatives of Bachelet’s government discussed the marriage lawsuit during a meeting that took place in Santiago, the Chilean capital, on Nov. 25.

The outcome of the meeting has yet to be made public.

“We want to contribute significantly to the government’s interest in amplifying the debate about these issues and thus advance the approval of this norm,” said Rolando Jiménez, president of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, after the introduction of the same-sex marriage bill. “The marriage equality law is part of a presidential agenda for the first time, and it therefore provides the best conditions for the advancement of equality. The current marriage law is homophobic because it excludes people based on their sexual orientation. Today we are moving forward towards the end of this unjust reality.”

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Canada

Canadian LGBTQ group cancels WorldPride participation over Trump policies

Egale Canada cites need to ‘safeguard our trans and nonbinary staff’

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Egale Canada, one of Canada’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations, announced in a Feb. 6 statement that its members will not be attending any events in the U.S., including WorldPride set to take place in Washington from May 17-June 8, because of policies put in place by President Donald Trump.

The statement says the decision not to come to the U.S. resulted in its cancellation of plans to attend a meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women at U.N. headquarters in New York in March, at which it planned to discuss LGBTQ related issues.

“After deep consideration, we have decided not to engage in-person in this year’s Commission on the Status of Women or any other UN, OAS (Organization of American States or global convergings, including WorldPride, taking place in the United States in the foreseeable future,” the statement says.

“This decision is foremost based on the need to safeguard our trans and nonbinary staff who would face questionable treatment at land and aviation borders to attend such convenings, and to stand in solidarity with global colleagues who are experiencing similar fear around entry to the U.S.,” the statement continues.

“It is also founded in the unique situation that has been thrust on Canadians (and citizens of other countries) regarding economic warfare and threats to our national sovereignty,” according to the statement. “We cannot in good conscience engage in a process of disentangling our organization from the U.S. goods and services (as we have recently released in a statement) and then proceed to travel to the U.S.”

The Egale Canada statement marks the first known time that an international LGBTQ rights organization has declared it will not come to the U.S. to attend WorldPride because of the controversial policies adopted by the Trump-Vance administration, which so far have included a roll back of programs and policies in support of transgender people.   

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State Department

Protesters demand US fully restore PEPFAR funding

Activists blocked intersection outside State Department on Thursday

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HIV/AIDS activists block an intersection outside the State Department on Feb. 6, 2025. They were demanding the Trump-Vance administration to fully restore PEPFAR funding. (Photo courtesy of Housing Works)

Dozens of HIV/AIDS activists on Thursday protested outside the State Department and demanded U.S. officials fully restore President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding.

The activists — members of Housing Works, Health GAP, and the Treatment Action Group — blocked an intersection for an hour. Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell told the Washington Blade that police did not make any arrests.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Jan. 24 directed State Department personnel to stop nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending for 90 days in response to an executive order that President Donald Trump signed after his inauguration. Rubio later issued a waiver that allows PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during the freeze.

The Blade on Wednesday reported PEPFAR-funded programs in Kenya and other African countries have been forced to suspend services and even shut down because of a lack of U.S. funding.

“PEPFAR is a program that has saved 26 million lives and changed the trajectory of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic,” said Housing Works CEO Charles King in a press release. “The recent freeze on its funding is not just a bureaucratic decision; it is a death sentence for millions who rely on these life-saving treatments. We cannot allow decades of progress to be undone. The U.S. must immediately reaffirm its commitment to global health and human dignity by restoring PEPFAR funding.” 

“We demand Secretary Rubio immediately reverse his deadly, illegal stop-work order, which has already disrupted life-saving HIV services worldwide,” added Russell. “Any waiver process is too little, too late.”

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News

Blade welcomes spring intern

Jaylon Curry-Hagler studies journalism at University of Maryland Global Campus

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Jaylon Curry-Hagler (Photo courtesy of Jaylon Curry-Hagler)

The Washington Blade on Thursday welcomed Jaylon Curry-Hagler as its spring intern.

Jaylon is studying journalism at the University of Maryland Global Campus. Jaylon also grew up in the D.C. area, and previously launched an independent magazine for local DIY creatives.

“As a queer, trans woman of color, I find it more important than ever to give a voice to those within the community and be unapologetic in holding the powers at be accountable as we move toward a future that challenges us to be stronger and connect with one another,” said Jaylon.

Jaylon’s internship with the Blade will end on April 30.

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