Argentine President Cristina Fernandez
de Kirchner has praised passage of Latin
America's first gay marriage law, calling it a “positive step,”
Telam reported.
Senators approved the gay marriage bill
early Thursday morning following a marathon 15 hour debate.
After rejecting its own committee's
recommendation to take up a bill that recognizes gay and lesbian
couples with civil unions but does not allow for adoption, the Senate
voted in favor of the gay marriage bill in a 33-27 vote. The
country's lower chamber voted in favor of the bill in May.
Religious groups had fiercely opposed
the legalization of gay marriage. The Roman Catholic Church, to
which 91% of the population claims allegiance, rallied thousands
outside the doors of Congress as senators debated the bill on
Wednesday.
Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio
urged Catholics to reject gay marriage and claimed that the devil was
behind a movement that “aims to confuse and deceive the children of
God.”
Speaking to the Argentine press during
a state visit to China, Kirchner said she endorsed passage of the
bill “mostly because I was not in agreement with the discourse
surrounding the debate.”
In earlier remarks, the president had
called the church's tone reminiscent of “medieval times and the
Inquisition.”
“The fact that there was talk of a
war against God, for example, showed a radicalization that was not
positive in any way,” she said.
She likened passage of the gay marriage
bill to civil rights struggles of the past, including the women's
suffrage movement, then added that in that context “we can
understand this as a positive step that defends the rights of the
minority.”
Chief of Staff Anibal Fernandez said
the bill puts Argentina at the forefront of gay rights in Latin
American.