World
Chile marriage equality law takes effect
Two same-sex couples married in country’s capital on Thursday
Editor’s note: Washington Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers is currently on assignment in Chile.
SANTIAGO, Chile — Two gay men on Thursday became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Chile.
Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar, who have been together for seven years, married shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET) at the Chilean Civil Registry and Identification Service office in the Providencia neighborhood of the country’s capital of Santiago as their two young children watched. Justice Minister Hernán Larraín, Deputy Human Rights Secretary Lorena Recabarren, the directors of two Chilean LGBTQ rights groups — long-time Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual (Movilh) Director Rolando Jiménez and Fundación Iguales President Isabel Amor — and Hunter T. Carter, a U.S.-based lawyer who advocates for marriage equality throughout Latin America, are among those who also attended.
Consuelo Morales and Pabla Heuser, a lesbian couple who has been together for 17 years, married in the Civil Registry office less than half an hour after Silva and Nazar tied the knot.
“It is a terrific moment for us as a couple,” Silva told the Blade during a brief interview immediately after he and Nazar married. “This act will be felt across Chile.”
Outgoing President Sebastián Piñera late last year signed the marriage equality law after the Chilean Congress passed it.
Movilh in 2012 filed a lawsuit with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of three same-sex couples who were seeking marriage rights.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights that same year ruled in favor of Karen Atala, a Chilean judge who lost custody of her three daughters to her ex-husband because she is a lesbian. The landmark decision established a legal precedent that has been used to advance marriage equality throughout Latin America.
Same-sex couples in Chile have been able to enter into civil unions since 2015.
The government of former President Michelle Bachelet — who is now the U.N. high commissioner for human rights — in 2016 said it would introduce bills to extend marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples as part of an agreement between it, Movilh and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Movilh in 2020 withdrew from the agreement after it accused Piñera of not doing enough to advance marriage equality in Chile.
Piñera last June announced his support of the issue. He met with Silva and Nazar on Thursday at the Presidential Palace in Santiago after they married.
Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia are among the other Latin American countries in which same-sex couples can legally marry.
Kazakhstan
Kazakh Senate tables anti-LGBTQ propaganda bill
Lawmakers say they need more time to consider proposal
The Kazakh Senate has tabled a vote on a bill that would ban so-called LGBTQ propaganda in the country.
Members of Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament last month unanimously approved the measure that would ban “‘LGBT propaganda’ online or in the media” with “fines for violators and up to 10 days in jail for repeat offenders.” The Kazakh Telegraph Agency, an independent news organization, reported the Senate in a statement said senators needed more time to consider the measure.
“It is important to note that the law introduces amendments and additions to the Labor Code of Kazakhstan as well as to 12 other laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This is a significant amount of work and requires additional time,” reads the statement. “Moreover, given that the law also regulates issues related to the protection of children’s rights, this is always a matter requiring special consideration and increased attention … “
Kazakhstan is a predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic in Central Asia that borders Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China.
Russia, Georgia, and Hungary are among the other countries with anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws.
Colombia
Colombia anunció la inclusión de las categorías ‘trans’ y ‘no binario’ en los documentos de identidad
Registraduría Nacional anunció el cambio el 28 de noviembre
Ahora los ciudadanos colombianos podrán seleccionar las categorías ‘trans’ y ‘no binario’ en los documentos de identidad del país.
Este viernes la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil anunció que añadió las categorías ‘no binario’ y ‘trans’ en los distintos documentos de identidad con el fin de garantizar los derechos de las personas con identidad diversa.
El registrador nacional, Hernán Penagos, informó que hizo la inclusión de estas dos categorías en los documentos de: registro civil, tarjeta de identidad y cédula de ciudadanía.
Según la registraduría: “La inclusión de estas categorías representa un importante avance en materia de garantía de derechos de las personas con identidad de género diversa”.
Estas categorías estarán en el campo de ‘sexo’ en el que están normalmente las clasificaciones de ‘femenino’ y ‘masculino’ en los documentos de identidad.
En 2024 se inició la ejecución de diferentes acciones orientadas implementar componentes “‘NB’ y ‘T’ en el campo ‘sexo’ de los registros civiles y los documentos de identidad”.
Las personas trans existen y su identidad de género es un aspecto fundamental de su humanidad, reconocido por la Corte Constitucional de Colombia en sentencias como T-236/2023 y T-188/2024, que protegen sus derechos a la identidad y no discriminación. La actualización de la Registraduría implementa estos fallos que ya habían ordenado esos cambios en documentos de identidad.
Por su parte, el registrador nacional, Penagos, comentó que: “se trata del cumplimiento de unas órdenes por parte de la Corte Constitucional y, en segundo lugar, de una iniciativa en la que la Registraduría ha estado absolutamente comprometida”. Y explicó que en cada “una de las estaciones integradas de servicio de las más de 1.200 oficinas que tiene la Registraduría Nacional se va a incluir todo este proceso”.
Japan
Tokyo court upholds Japan’s same-sex marriage ban
Country is only G7 nation without legal recognition of same-sex couples
The Tokyo High Court on Nov. 28 ruled the lack of marriage rights for same-sex couples in Japan is constitutional.
The Associated Press notes Judge Ayumi Higashi upheld the legal definition of a family in Japan as a man and a woman and their children. The court also dismissed the eight plaintiffs’ demand for 1 million yen ($6,406.85) in damages.
Hiromi Hatogai, one of the plaintiffs, told reporters after the court ruled that she is “so disappointed.”
“Rather than sorrow, I’m outraged and appalled by the decision,” said Hatogai, according to the AP. “Were the judges listening to us?”
Japan remains the only G7 country without legal recognition of same-sex couples, even though several courts in recent years have ruled in favor of it.
The Sapporo District Court in 2021 ruled the denial of marriage benefits to same-sex couples violates the constitution’s equality clause. The Nagoya District Court in 2023 issued a similar ruling. The Fukuoka District Court in a separate decision said Japan’s current legal framework is unconstitutional. The Tokyo High Court in 2024 came to the same conclusion.
The Washington Blade last month noted Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is Japan’s first female head of government, opposes marriage equality and has reiterated the constitution’s assertion the family is an institution based around “the equal rights of husband and wife.”
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