Same-sex marriage in Uruguay

[3] The amended bill was approved by the Chamber of Representatives in a 71–21 vote on April 10 and was signed into law by President José Mujica on May 3, 2013.

[4][5] Uruguay was the third country in South America, after Argentina and Brazil,[6] and the fourteenth in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

On January 20, 2008, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to enact a national civil union law, titled Ley de Unión Concubinaria.

[16][17] Following the approval of the bill, both same-sex and opposite-sex couples are allowed to enter into a civil union (Spanish: unión concubinaria, pronounced [uˈnjoŋ koŋkuβiˈnaɾja]) after having lived together for at least five years, and are entitled to most of the benefits that married couples are afforded, including social security entitlements, inheritance rights and joint ownership of goods and property.

[18] A government-backed bill allowing same-sex couples to adopt children was discussed in Parliament in the spring of 2008, receiving the support of President Vázquez and fierce opposition from the Catholic Church.

[21][22][23][24] On May 25, 2009, Senator Margarita Percovich announced that if the Broad Front won the national elections in October 2009 it would introduce a same-sex marriage bill to Parliament.

[26][27][28] Michelle Suárez Bértora, the first transgender attorney in Uruguay, assisted in drafting the same-sex marriage legislation as part of her work with the LGBT rights organization Ovejas Negras ("Black Sheep").

[30][31] In April 2011, Sebastián Sabini, a legislator of the Movement of Popular Participation, one of the parties consisting the Broad Front, presented the bill allowing same-sex couples to marry.

[39] In June 2012, Minister of Education and Culture Ricardo Ehrlich announced that the same-sex marriage bill would be debated in Parliament before the end of 2012.

[59][60] Uruguay was the third country in South America, after Argentina and Brazil, and the fourteenth in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

[73] A Factum poll conducted in November 2011 found that 52% of the population supported same-sex marriage, 32% were opposed, 10% were neutral and 6% had no opinion.

[75] Another Cifra poll, conducted between February 22 and March 4, 2013, found that 54% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, 32% were opposed, 9% were undecided and 4% had no opinion.

[76][77] According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between November 22, 2013, and January 8, 2014, 62% of Uruguayans supported same-sex marriage, while 31% were opposed.