Same-sex marriage inched closer to
reality in Chile after lawmakers in the House of Representatives
overwhelmingly approved a marriage bill.
The measure passed with a 101-30 vote
with two lawmakers abstaining.
Tuesday's vote comes roughly three
months after the bill cleared the Chilean Senate with a 28-14 vote.
The bill now heads back to the Senate
for a final vote.
In June, outgoing President Sebastian
Piñera backed the
marriage bill during an annual address to lawmakers.
Piñera
served as president from 2010 to 2014. He returned to the office in
2018.
During his first term, Piñera,
a conservative, introduced a civil unions bill for gay and straight
couples who have lived together for more than one year. In backing
civil unions, Piñera
snuffed a burgeoning campaign for same-sex marriage in Chile. His
bill became law in 2015.
In 2017, former President Michelle
Bachelet, the first woman to hold the Chilean presidency, introduced
a same-sex marriage bill.
Gay and lesbian couples can marry in
neighboring Argentina. Other South American nations with same-sex
marriage include Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Uruguay.