The General Law Committee of
Argentina's Senate will take up a gay marriage bill on Tuesday,
Parlamentario.com reported.
The committee is chaired by Liliana
Negre de Alonso, who has said that while she disagrees with giving
gay and lesbian couples the right to marry, she won't block debate on
the issue.
After more than 12 hours of debate,
Argentina's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (la Camara de
Diputados), approved the bill on May 6. One-hundred-twenty-five
lawmakers opted for a bill that gives gay couples the right to marry
– including the right to adopt – over a civil unions bill that
did not include gay adoption. Five deputies decided to abstain,
while 109 lawmakers rejected the measure.
Argentine President Christina Fernandez
de Kirchner has said she would not block the measure from becoming
law, if approved by senators.
The measure is not expected to reach
the Senate floor until July, where it is expected to face a tight
vote. The bill has attracted an even number of supporters and
opponents among senators, according to a poll conducted by news
agency DyN released Thursday. One senator has decided to
abstain,while another 17 refused to answer.
Gay marriage has dominated national
headlines since December when two men married for the first time in
Latin America. Just days before deputies debated the measure,
Alejandro
Luna and Gilles Grall, a Frenchman, became the fifth gay couple to
marry in Argentina.
The Roman Catholic Church is strongly
opposed to the legislation.