Civil unions in Uruguay

South America      Same-sex marriage      Other type of partnership      Unregistered cohabitation      Unrecognized or unknown      No recognition, issue under consideration      No recognition, only same-sex marriage officially banned      No recognition, all types of partnerships officially banned      Homosexuality illegal

On January 1, 2008, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to have a national civil union law, titled Ley de Unión Concubinaria.^[1]

Following the approval of a bill proposed by Senator Margarita Percovich of the Broad Front coalition in November 2007, both same-sex and opposite-sex couples will be allowed to enter into a civil union (unión concubinaria) after they live together for at least five years, and will be entitled to most of the benefits that married couples are afforded, including social security entitlements, inheritance rights and joint ownership of goods and property.^[2]

The bill was passed in Chamber of Deputies on 29 November 2007 after having been passed in a similar form in the Senate in 2006;^[3][4][5][6] the bill was passed by both chambers in the same form on December 19^[7][8] and signed into law by president Tabaré Vázquez on December 27.^[9][10] It came into effect on 1 January 2008.^[11]

A government-backed bill allowing same-sex couples to adopt children was discussed in the national parliament in the spring of 2008. The bill has been approved by both the Senate and the House of Deputies. Thus, same-sex couples can jointly adopt in Uruguay, a first for South America.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17]}

On May 25, 2009 Senator Percovich says if Broad Front wins the national elections in October 2009 it will introduce a same-sex marriage bill.^[18][19] Given that the Broad Front (Frente Amplio) won an absolute majority in both chambers with the results of the presidential election still to be determined in a second round on November 29, 2009, things look promising for same-sex marriage legislation in Uruguay.

See also

• LGBT rights in Uruguay

Notes

1. ^ Uruguay enacts civil unions law
2. ^ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LAW OF UNION CONCUBINE
3. ^ Uruguay to pass gay union law
4. ^ Uruguay wants to introduce gay marriage
5. ^ Uruguay set to legalize gay civil unions
6. ^ Uruguay to Legalize Same-Sex Civil Unions
7. ^ Uruguay approves gay civil unions
8. ^ Uruguay legalizes same-sex civil unions
9. ^ Uruguay's President grants legal rights for gay couples
10. ^ Uruguayan president signs law legalizing civil unions for gay couples
11. ^ Uruguay approves gay civil unions
12. ^ Bill to legalise gay adoption moves forward in Uruguay
13. ^ Uruguay nears same-sex adoption law
14. ^ Uruguay allows same sex adoption
15. ^ Uruguay allows same-sex adoption
16. ^ Uruguay will allow gay adoption, a first for Latin America
17. ^ Uruguay Approves Adoptions for Homosexual and Unmarried Couples
18. ^ Uruguayan Socialists Prepare "Homosexual Marriage" Legislation
19. ^ Now Uruguay is for gay marriage

External links

• Uruguay Sees First Civil Union
• Gay couple celebrate Uruguay's second civil union
• Out In Uruguay

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