The Chilean government has agreed to
drop its opposition to marriage rights for gay couples in a lawsuit
filed with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Three gay couples who wish to marry
filed the suit in 2012.
According to the Washington Blade,
government officials met Tuesday with LGBT advocate the Movement for
Homosexual Integration and Liberation to finalize “an amicable
settlement.”
The group said in a statement that the
government had agreed to drop its opposition in the case.
The administration of former President
Sebastian Pinera argued against the “new definition of marriage”
in a brief filed in the case in 2013.
President Michelle Bachelet, who took
office last year, endorsed marriage equality during her presidential
campaign.
The group's lawyer, Hunter T. Carter,
told the
Blade
“we have reached an agreement in principle.”
The Chilean Senate late last month gave
final legislative approval to a gay-inclusive civil unions bill.
While Bachelet's administration has pledged to back marriage
legislation for gay couples, Carter said the lawsuit would continue.
“We're going to continue the fight,”
he said. “We are not going to drop the case until marriage is
enacted in Chile.”