Chilean Senator To Introduce Civil Union Legislation Aaron Cantu (santiagotimes.cl, 14/6/2010)
Laws would benefit hetero- and homosexual couples
Later this week, Chilean senator Andrés Allamand (Renovación Nacional Party) is expected to introduce in Congress a set of legislative measures under the title Acuerdo de Vida en Común (AVC). The proposal would establish civil unions for unmarried couples, whether of opposite or the same sex, and grant them nearly all of the legal rights of married couples.
For those who choose to commit themselves in civil union, the laws would open the door to an array of privileges from inheritance to social security rights that only married heterosexual couples currently enjoy.
Though it falls short of legalizing gay marriage, the AVC is the most progressive measure to have arisen thus far from the mire of controversy over the issue.
Senators from the right-wing Unión Demócrata Independiente party who support the measure are likely to experience some political fallout during internal elections on August 21. This possibility has already robbed the AVC of support, including that of Senator Andrés Chadwick, one of the original supporters of the bill.
“I have decided that it is more important to preserve party unity in the UDI, which at the moment is very divided [over the AVC],” the senator said.
Carlos Larraín, president of the center-right Renovación Nacional Party, also voiced concern that the measure could rupture political bonds in Congress. This was a gentle quibble compared to Larraín’s much criticized remark last week that the AVC was a precursor to legitimizing pedophilia and bestiality.
President Sebastián Piñera, who surprised many people by using a political ad featuring two gay men during his campaign, praised the initiative for seeking middle ground.
“It will neither undermine nor weaken the institution of marriage, nor will it create a covert type of gay marriage. Rather, it will resolve real problems that people are experiencing,” he said.
Only weeks ago the president declared his opposition to any law that would give marital status to common-law couples. And he has visibly avoided the issue of common-law unions during his first few months in office—perhaps motivated by a desire to soften ideological divisions between himself and the UDI.
The Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual (Movilh), the leading gay-rights group in Chile, acknowledged that the AVC represented “social progress” but maintained, as it said in a press release, “Equality will come to all Chileans only when marriage is no longer an exclusive right of heterosexuals.”
On June 26, the group will host a demonstration in Parque Forestal in support of gay marriage and other civil rights initiatives.
Laws would benefit hetero- and homosexual couples
Later this week, Chilean senator Andrés Allamand (Renovación Nacional Party) is expected to introduce in Congress a set of legislative measures under the title Acuerdo de Vida en Común (AVC). The proposal would establish civil unions for unmarried couples, whether of opposite or the same sex, and grant them nearly all of the legal rights of married couples.
For those who choose to commit themselves in civil union, the laws would open the door to an array of privileges from inheritance to social security rights that only married heterosexual couples currently enjoy.
Though it falls short of legalizing gay marriage, the AVC is the most progressive measure to have arisen thus far from the mire of controversy over the issue.
Senators from the right-wing Unión Demócrata Independiente party who support the measure are likely to experience some political fallout during internal elections on August 21. This possibility has already robbed the AVC of support, including that of Senator Andrés Chadwick, one of the original supporters of the bill.
“I have decided that it is more important to preserve party unity in the UDI, which at the moment is very divided [over the AVC],” the senator said.
Carlos Larraín, president of the center-right Renovación Nacional Party, also voiced concern that the measure could rupture political bonds in Congress. This was a gentle quibble compared to Larraín’s much criticized remark last week that the AVC was a precursor to legitimizing pedophilia and bestiality.
President Sebastián Piñera, who surprised many people by using a political ad featuring two gay men during his campaign, praised the initiative for seeking middle ground.
“It will neither undermine nor weaken the institution of marriage, nor will it create a covert type of gay marriage. Rather, it will resolve real problems that people are experiencing,” he said.
Only weeks ago the president declared his opposition to any law that would give marital status to common-law couples. And he has visibly avoided the issue of common-law unions during his first few months in office—perhaps motivated by a desire to soften ideological divisions between himself and the UDI.
The Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual (Movilh), the leading gay-rights group in Chile, acknowledged that the AVC represented “social progress” but maintained, as it said in a press release, “Equality will come to all Chileans only when marriage is no longer an exclusive right of heterosexuals.”
On June 26, the group will host a demonstration in Parque Forestal in support of gay marriage and other civil rights initiatives.
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