An effort to repeal Argentina's
groundbreaking gay marriage law is underway.
According
to the Catholic
News Agency
(CNA), the socially conservative group Federal Network of
Families (Red
Federal de Familias) has begun a petition drive calling on
lawmakers to nullify the law.
More than 1,300 gay and lesbian couples
had tied the knot by January – six months after the law took effect
– according to the gay rights group Federacion Argentina de
Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales y Trans (FALGBT), which lobbied for
passage of the law. The majority of those marriages were between men
who had lived together for more than 12 years.
Juan Pablo Berarducci, national
coordinator of the Federal Network of Families, told the Catholic
news agency that the group hopes to collect 500,000 signatures by
July, in time to force candidates vying for the government's top
leadership positions to take a stand on the issue.
Argentina became the first Latin
American country to legalize gay marriage after President Cristina
Fernandez de Kirchner signed the law on July 21. Lawmakers approved
the law over the strong objections of the Roman Catholic church; one
cardinal called the movement to legalize such unions the devil's
handiwork.
Gay
and lesbian couples can legally marry in 10 countries on 3
continents.