More than 4,000 people rallied Thursday
in Cordoba to urge the Argentine Senate to approve a gay marriage
bill, various media outlets reported.
Demonstrators marched on the Plaza de
la Intendencia, where they held banners, chanted slogans and listened
to speeches in favor of making Argentina the first Latin American
country to legalize marriage between two members of the same sex.
The bill was approved in May by
Argentina's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (la Camara de
Diputados). The Senate General Law Committee reviewing the bill has
taken its gay marriage debate on the road, with stops planned for the
cities of Salta, Tucuman, San Juan and Mendoza. The four-city tour
runs from June 14-28. The full Senate is scheduled to take up the
bill on July 14, a Wednesday, where the measure faces an uncertain
future.
Argentine President Christina Fernandez
de Kirchner has said she would not block the measure from becoming
law, if approved by senators.
Lawmakers in favor of gay marriage also
spoke at the rally.
“Today nobody can say the existence
of same-sex couples is abnormal,” Cordoba National Deputy Paula
Cecilia Merchan told the crowd. “We are fighting, and I think we
will ensure that the law is approved, so that these couples are
recognized in the same way heterosexual couples are. In that sense,
I think this fight has more to do with reality and cultural and
social conditions.”
Uruguay recognizes gay couples with
civil unions and lawmakers legalized gay marriage in Mexico City last
December. Chile
is considering a civil unions law.