A key panel in the Argentine Senate is
expected to deliver its recommendation on a gay marriage bill
Tuesday.
The Senate General Law Committee began
debate on the bill last month after it was approved in May by
Argentina's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (la Camara de
Diputados).
The committee is headed by Senator
Liliana Negre de Alonso, who has publicly said she disagrees with
giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. Her committee
began a four-city hearing tour on June 14 that wrapped up on June 28
in the provincial capital city of Mendoza.
The full Senate is scheduled to take up
the bill on July 14, a Wednesday. Senate members appear divided on
the measure, making the panel's opinion a crucial deciding factor.
The Roman Catholic Church has
forcefully objected to the legalization of gay marriage in the
Catholic stronghold.
Senator Norma Morandini told members of
the media that a church official told her she was “going to hell”
for supporting the measure.
The opinion arrives almost a week after
an estimated 2,000 people rallied in front of the National Congress
urging lawmakers to approve the gay marriage bill. Gay marriage
opponents – led by Catholic and evangelical churches – have
called for a giant protest on July 13.