A municipal judge in Bogota on Friday agreed to seal the first homosexual marriage in Colombia.
Judge Carmen Lucia Rodriguez formally accepted the upcoming union of a homosexual couple, after two men came into her office seeking the link.
Colombian law fails to recognize same sex marriage. Consequently, the couples lawyer argued that the an analogy be applied to the civil code for heterosexual couples; contending that two grooms can join in a civil marriage.
The decision of the judge is therefore based on article five of the civil procedure code, which states that “any vacuum in the provisions of this code shall be filled by the rules governing similar cases, and in the absence of these with constitutional and procedural law.”
In a five-page summary, the judge defended the viability of the marriage of homosexual couples, and makes an appointment for the two men to return to her offices on July 24, with two witnesses in order to celebrate their marriage.
The union to be held on July 24 would become the first official wedding of a same sex couple in the country, following a struggle for homosexual couples to achieve recognition of their right to equality.
The two lovers are able to get married after the Constitutional Court in 2011 gave Congress a two-year deadline to come up with legislation regulating the legal status of gay couples. After Congress proved unable to pass any kind of legislation on gay rights, members of Colombia’s LGTB community are now able to request marriage and, in the case a civil servant refuses, can demand to be web before a court.
Sources
- Juez de Bogotá celebrará el primer matrimonio homosexual en Colombia (Elespectador)
- Juez de Bogotá celebrará el primer matrimonio homosexual en Colombia (eluniversal)
