Same-sex marriage in Ecuador

[7] President Rafael Correa said he wanted the document to allow same-sex unions, saying that "the profoundly humanistic position of this government is to respect the intrinsic dignity of everyone, of every human being, independently of their creed, race, sexual preference.

[22] On 21 April 2015, the National Assembly approved a bill codifying same-sex civil unions into statutory law by a vote of 89–1.

[25] The law changed article 222 of the Civil Code to read:[26] The stable and monogamous union between two persons, free of matrimonial bond, of legal age, who form a de facto couple, generates the same rights and obligations as held by families built through marriage and leads to a community property.

[27] Under Article 67 of the 2008 Constitution, "marriage is the union between man and woman based on the free consent of the parties and their equal rights, obligations and legal capacity.

[29] The court focused its ruling on an advisory opinion issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in January 2018 that member states should grant same-sex couples "accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage".

[39] Ahead of the 2017 presidential election, Paco Moncayo, candidate for the Democratic Left, called for a national debate on the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

[40] The election was won by Lenín Moreno, candidate for the PAIS Alliance, whose position on same-sex marriage was unknown, as he had refused to answer questions on the issue from activist Pamela Troya.

[50] The couple, Santiago Vinces and Fernando Saltos, marched through the city to the civil registry office with a convoy of activists and supporters, including actress Érika Vélez.

(...) in accordance with articles 1.1, 2, 11.2, 17, and 24 of the American Convention, it is necessary to guarantee access to all the existing figures in domestic legal systems, including the right to marry.

After both couples were rejected, they filed separate lawsuits arguing that the refusal was discriminatory, unconstitutional and a violation of the American Convention on Human Rights.

The judges ordered the civil registry to immediately begin registering same-sex marriages, but their decision was stayed pending appeal.

[73][74] A ruling in the cases was originally set for 4 June 2019,[75] but was delayed as the judges were not able to reach a decision after several hours of discussion, and announced they would continue to convene over the following days.

[77][78] In the first ruling, the court held that the IACHR opinion is fully binding on Ecuador and takes precedence over Ecuadorian domestic law.

[81] The decision also allows same-sex couples to marry in Ecuadorian embassies and diplomatic offices worldwide, as long as one partner is a citizen of Ecuador.

[82][83] Article 81 of the Civil Code was amended to read: Marriage is a solemn contract by which two persons are united in order to live together and mutually help each other.

In particular, LGBT activists noted that the wording used in the ruling would likely result in the legalisation of same-sex marriage in numerous other Latin American nations under the jurisdiction of the IACHR.

[90] According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between 7 November 2013 and 26 January 2014, 16% of Ecuadorians supported same-sex marriage, while 74% were opposed.

[94] A July 2019 survey conducted by the Vanderbilt University showed that 51.3% of the Ecuador public opposed same-sex marriage, 36.8% "strongly".