Colombia is considering four bills on
gay unions after the nation's Constitutional Court mandated the legal
recognition of gay and lesbian couples.
The court's majority agreed that gay
couples have the right to form a family and gave Congress two years
to legislate on gay unions.
If Congress fails to act by July 20,
2013, then “gay couples can go to a notary and with the same
solemnity of a heterosexual marriage enter a union similar to one
between a heterosexual couple,” said Judge Juan Carlos Henao, the
court's president.
Two of the country's dominant political
parties and two alternative parties have since introduced legislation
that addresses the court's ruling.
The Partido Social de Unidad Nacional,
which holds the largest number of Congressional seats, has introduced
a civil unions law, while the nation's third largest party, the
Partido Liberal Colombiano, is backing a bill that would legalize gay
marriage.
The Polo Democratico Alternativo has
introduced a gay marriage law and the Partido Verde Colombiano is
behind a civil unions bill.
The nation's second largest party, the
Partido Conservador Colombiano, a conservative party, has not acted.