Same-sex sexual activity legal? Legal since 1934 | Adoption Legal since 2009 | |
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Gender identity/expression Transgender people allowed to change legal gender without a diagnosis, hormone therapy or surgery resulting in sterilization Military service Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly Discrimination protections Sexual orientation and gender identity protections since 2004 (see below) Recognition of
relationships Same-sex marriage since 2013 | ||
LGBT rights in Uruguay are among the most liberal in both South America and the world. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal with an equal age of consent law since 1934, anti-discrimination laws in place since 2003. Gays and lesbians have been allowed to serve openly in the military and jointly adopt children since 2009, and civil unions have been allowed for same-sex couples since 2008 and civil marriages since 2013, in accordance with the nation's same-sex marriage law passed in early 2013.
Contents
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1934. Then the age of consent became equal at 15, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender. However the corruption of people under the age of 18 is criminalized as well, since 1994.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
On 11 April 2013, Uruguay's lower house voted to legalise same sex marriage, completing the legislative process to enable same-sex couples to marry in the nation. The legislatively approved law was signed by President Jose Mujica on May 3, and went into full effect on August 5, 2013.
Uruguay was the first Latin American country to legalize civil unions under national legislation. Under the legislation couples would have be together for at least five years and sign a registry. The couples will receive health benefits, inheritance, parenting and pension rights. The bill was passed in Parliament on 30 November 2007 after having been passed in a similar form in the Senate earlier in February 2007; the bill was passed by both chambers in the same forum on 19 December and signed into law by president Tabaré Vázquez on 27 December. It came into effect since 1 January 2008. Following the approval of a bill, both same-sex and opposite-sex couples are allowed to enter into a civil union after they live together for at least five years, and will be entitled to get some of the benefits that married couples are afforded.
In July 2010, lawmakers of the ruling Broad Front announced intension to legalize same sex marriage. In 2011, the Marriage Equality Bill got introduced to Parliament and in December 2012, passed in the Chamber of Deputies by a vote of 81-6 and passed in the Senate on 2 April 2013 by a 23-8 vote. The legislatively approved law was signed by President Jose Mujica on May 3, and went into full effect on August 5, 2013.
In June 2012, a judicial court in Uruguay granted recognition to a same-sex marriage licensed in Spain, creating a paradoxical situation in which Uruguay recognizes same-sex marriages established in any country but Uruguay and Uruguayans who marry elsewhere can petition a judge to recognize their marriage under Uruguayan law. The court also held that local laws permit same-sex marriage, even if they do not say so explicitly.
Adoption and family planning
Since September 2009, same-sex couples in a civil union can jointly adopt. The law enabling this was approved by the House of Deputies on 28 August 2009 and by the Senate on 9 September 2009. Uruguay was the first country in Latin America to allow same-sex couples to adopt children.
17 out of a possible 23 senators voted in favour of the move. After the vote, Senator Margarita Percovich said: "It is a right for the boys and the girls, not a right for the adults. It streamlines the adoption process and does not discriminate". Diego Sempol, a representative of the gay rights group, Black Sheep, said: “This law is a significant step toward recognizing the rights of homosexual couples”. Nicolas Cotugno, archbishop of Montevideo had previously said it would be a "serious error to accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples", claiming it was "not about religion, philosophy or sociology. It's something which is mainly about the respect of human nature itself". He also claimed: "The Church cannot accept a family made up of two people of the same sex. These are people who unite and live their life together, but the Church does not consider that a family. A child is not something you make. I don't want to be too harsh in my comment, but with all due respect, a child is not a pet". Senator Francisco Gallinal of the National Party claimed: “The family is the bedrock of society and this measure weakens it. For us, allowing children to be adopted by same-sex couples is conditioning the child’s free will.”
Discrimination protections
Incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity has been prohibited since 2003, and in 2004 an anti-discrimination law was passed to create an Honorary Commission to Combat Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and other forms of Discrimination including sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. Commission is intended to recommend laws to protect against various forms of discrimination.
Military service
Since May 2009, gay people are allowed to serve openly in the military of Uruguay, after the Defence Minister signed a decree stating that military recruitment policy would no longer discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Transgender issues
In October 2009, a law was passed allowing transgender people over the age of 18 to change their name and legal gender on official documents, so that it is in line with their gender identity.