The controversial topic of same-sex marriage was brought to Senate on Wednesday in a proposal to officially change the “civil union bill” to a “gay marriage bill,” giving couples some, but not all, of the same rights as heterosexual couples in Colombia.
According to newspaper El Espectador, the gay marriage bill was officially filed on Wednesday to be processed in Senate to define the rights and regulations of same-sex couples.
“In this country homosexuals already have economic rights and social security, therefore it is time to move toward matrimony,” said the author of the proposed bill, Senator Armando Benedetti.
The bill that initially used the term civil union proposes to change the term to gay marriage, to allegedly clarify the State’s position towards the rights of homosexual couples.
However, these rights do not include the ability of homosexual couples to adopt children.
“Requirements are necessary to adopt children and among those sought requirements is a heterosexual couple,” said Benedetti.
The senator also claimed that the project would not take religious conflict into account when discussing and deciding on the bill.
The gay marriage bill could be studied and voted upon next week and is expected to draw significant controversy around the Senate’s discussion and verdict.
A bill to recognize gay marriage has already been proposed and defeated six times in the Colombian Congress, and conservative politicians and the country’s organized religions remain opposed to recognizing gay marriage.
