Roughly one thousand people took to the
streets of Santiago, Chile on Saturday in support of the nation's ban
on gay marriage, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.
The march, organized by the Christian
conservative groups Transforma Chile and Muevete Chile, stepped off
at Plaza Italia and ended at the Palacio de la Moneda.
“Today the Chilean constitution and
the law defines marriage as a union between a man and woman, but this
is daily threatened by the influence of the homosexual lobby that day
by day take more force to lobby Parliament,” the coalition said on
its website.
Chile President Sebastian Pinera
campaigned on a promise to back a civil unions bill for gay couples.
The country's largest gay rights group, MOVILH, has called out the
president for his unkept promise. Earlier this month, however,
Pinera announced he was prepared to back a bill that would allow gay
and straight couples who have lived together for more than one year
to enter a legal contract called the Non-Marital Cohabitation
Agreement.
The topic of legal recognition for gay
couples has reverberated throughout Latin American since Argentina
and the city-state of Mexico City legalized gay marriage last year.
(Related: Colombian
Congress ordered to recognize gay unions.)