Just days into his second term as
president, Ecuador's Rafael Correa has renounced his support for a
transgender bill because it could lead to gay marriage.
Speaking at a televised town hall
forum, Correa said that the LGBT community should back down on its
calls for marriage equality and be grateful for the advances made
under his administration.
“There is no other government, my
friends, there is no other government that has done more for GLTBI
groups than the government of the Civilian Revolution,” Correa
said, according to a transcript provided by Blabbeando.com.
“For example, the constitution recognizes civil unions. Right now
two people of the same sex can live together, if one dies the other
has inheritance rights. They have those rights because civil unions
are recognized thanks to the Civilian Revolution.”
“We codified homophobia as a crime.
Discrimination based on sexual discrimination. Thanks to the
Civilian Revolution.”
“They have civil unions, homophobia
is penalized, we have opened opportunities, the fight against
discrimination. But if there is no gay marriage, then I am a
traitor. All or nothing. Are we clear on that?”
“They should have a better strategy.
They harm themselves and they harm us and it pains us because I
believe that's being ungrateful. But whatever, we are not here to
demand gratitude. But they also harm themselves because they are
making it easier for the return of the reactionary governments of the
past and let's see what they get from those governments.”
Correa added that he no longer supports
a proposed bill which would allow transgender people to change their
sex on government documents. He explained that gay people would use
the law to get around the constitution's ban on same gender marriage.
“But what happened? We later
realized it was a strategy to get to same-sex marriage, which is
something I've always said I oppose,” said Correa. “The
constitution says that marriage is between a man and a woman. So
what was the strategy? To say, OK, sex can be male or female but
even if my sex is masculine my gender identity is female. And if
that's the case, then the constitution would allow it and there you have
it: Gay marriage. Do you see? That's what we realized.” (The
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