Chile President Sebastian Pinera has
announced he'll send Congress a bill legalizing civil unions for gay
and lesbian couples.
Pinera announced his intentions in an
interview published Saturday by daily El
Mercurio.
The conservative lawmaker said his bill
seeks to “protect and safeguard” the civil rights of couples
living outside of marriage and “safeguard the dignity of those
couples, whether of opposite sex or even the same sex.”
The announcement comes after Chile's
largest gay rights group MOVILH called for a national march in
support of gay marriage and suggested that Pinera had not lived up to
a campaign pledge to back a civil unions bill. MOVILH's
demonstration is scheduled to take place on June 25 in the nation's
capital and largest city, Santiago, starting at 3PM at the Plaza
Italia.
The moves come 10 months after Senator
Fulvio Rossi, the president of the Socialist Party, implied the Roman
Catholic Church had strong-armed four senators to withdraw their
support for his gay marriage bill. Rossi insisted the church's loud
criticism would not deter him and that he would not withdraw his
bill. However, the measure has gained little traction.
Last year, neighboring Argentina
legalized gay marriage. Gay and lesbian couples can also marry in
the city-state of Mexico City and their marriages are recognized
throughout the country. Uruguay
is also considering a gay marriage law.