Chilean President to Introduce Same-sex Marriage Bill on Aug. 28

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet next week will formally introduce a bill that will extend marriage to same-sex couples. The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBT advocacy group, in a press release said Bachelet will introduce the measure on Aug. 28. The group in 2012 filed a lawsuit with the Inter-American Commission on

Chilean President to Introduce Same-sex Marriage Bill

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Thursday said her government will introduce a same-sex marriage bill in the coming months. La Tercera, a Chilean newspaper, reported Bachelet made the announcement during a speech to the country’s Congress. “It cannot be that old prejudices are stronger than love,” she said, according to La Tercera. Government reached agreement

Prominent LGBT Activist to Run for Chile Congress

A prominent LGBT rights advocate in Chile has announced he is running for a seat in the country’s congress. Luis Larraín, who is the co-founder and former president of Fundación Iguales, declared his candidacy for the Chilean House of Deputies in an interview that La Tercera, a Chilean newspaper. Larraín, 36, is a member of

Chilean President to Promote Marriage Bill Debate

The Chilean government has formally begun the long-delayed process through which citizens can debate a proposed marriage equality bill. President Michelle Bachelet made the announcement on Jan. 20 at La Moneda Palace, fulfilling one of her most long-awaited campaign promises she made before she was elected president for a second term in 2013: The beginning

Chilean Senate commission approves trans rights measure

A Chilean Senate commission last Wednesday approved a proposal that would allow transgender adults to legally change their name and gender without going before a judge. The Senate’s Human Rights Commission voted 4-1 in favor of the proposal. The proposal would allow unmarried trans Chileans over the age of 18 and those who have permanent

Argentina joins global LGBT rights initiative

Argentina has become the third Latin American country to join a U.S. initiative that seeks to promote LGBT rights around the world. The White House on Wednesday said that Argentina “agreed to join the” the Global Equality Fund, a public-private partnership the State Department manages with the U.S. Agency for International Development. The announcement coincided

Chilean officials oppose intersex children ‘normalization’ surgery

The Chilean government has urged doctors in the South American country to no longer perform surgeries that “normalize” the sex of intersex children. Undersecretary of Health Jaime Burrows and Undersecretary of Assistance Networks Gisela Alarcón in a document the Chilean Ministry of Health released last week expressed its opposition to “unnecessary ‘normalization’ treatments of intersex

Chilean president signs civil unions bill

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Monday signed a bill into law that will allow gays and lesbians in the South American country to enter into civil unions. “The civil union law is a vindication in the struggle for sexual diversity rights,” said Bachelet during the signing ceremony that took place at the Presidential Palace in

Chilean court upholds constitutionality of civil unions bill

A Chilean court has upheld the constitutionality of the South American country’s civil unions bill that received final approval earlier this year. The Chilean Constitutional Court on Monday issued its 14-page ruling that upheld the measure. The judges reached their decision on April 2. A group of opposition lawmakers challenged the bill after it received

Chilean government to end opposition to same-sex marriage

The Chilean government later this week is expected to announce it will not oppose marriage rights for same-sex couples in a lawsuit filed with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Members of President Michelle Bachelet’s administration on Tuesday met with representatives of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, an LGBT advocacy group, in Santiago,