Chile same-sex marriage vote celebrated as historic

Lesbian and gay couples celebrated in Chile after winning a decades-long fight for the right to wed, joining more than 20 other nations that have legalized same-sex marriage.

“I feel so happy. I feel proud. Finally our country, Chile, recognizes the dignity of our family,” said Claudia Aravena, a 42-year-old teacher from the Chilean capital of Santiago.

She spoke to the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Tuesday after

Chile’s Congress passed a law to legalize same-sex marriage, a milestone for the conservative South American nation.

The government said the “historic” vote set Chile on a path towards greater equality, recognizing younger voters’ growing support for equal rights.

Minister of Social Development Karla Rubilar applauded Congress for taking “one more step forward in terms of justice, in terms of equality, recognizing that love is love.”

Aravena agreed, saying that life with her long-term partner Lorena Grez and their toddler now had a new legitimacy.

“As a couple and parents of our daughter we weren’t recognized. We were invisible. We did not exist.”

“It’s like not existing. We have all the same obligations in society but not the same rights. Our rights were denied,” she said by phone from the Chilean capital.

Tuesday’s vote came after a decades-long fight pitting new voices against old in the largely Catholic nation of 19 million.

Aravena said the breakthrough would give her family the same status as any other in Chile, with a wedding now to plan.

“The law recognizes our right to equality and dignity – that we’re not an invisible family. It means a lot.

“We’ll get married in a ceremony with friends and family.”

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