Recognition of same-sex unions in Chile

Legal recognition of same-sex relationships
Marriage
Argentina Belgium Canada Iceland Netherlands Norway Portugal South Africa Spain Sweden
Performed in some jurisdictions
Mexico: Mexico City United States: CT, DC, IA, MA, NH, NY, VT, Coquille, Suquamish
Recognized, not performed
Aruba (Netherlands only) Curaçao (Netherlands only) Israel Mexico: all states (Mexico City only) Sint Maarten (Netherlands only) United States: CA (conditional), MD
Civil unions and registered partnerships
Andorra Austria Brazil Colombia Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Finland France - New Caledonia - Wallis and Futuna Germany Greenland Hungary Ireland Isle of Man Liechtenstein Luxembourg New Zealand Slovenia Switzerland United Kingdom Uruguay
Performed in some jurisdictions
Australia: ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC Mexico: COA United States: CA, CO, DE, HI, IL, ME, NJ, NV, OR, RI, WA, WI
Unregistered cohabitation
Australia Croatia Israel
Recognized in some jurisdictions
United States: MD
See also
Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage legislation Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Marriage privatization Civil union Domestic partnership Listings by country
LGBT portal
v · d · e

South America

  Same-sex marriage

  Other type of partnership

  Unregistered cohabitation

  Unrecognized or unknown

  No recognition, issue under consideration

  No recognition, only same-sex marriage officially banned

  No recognition, all types of partnerships officially banned

  Same-sex sexual activity illegal

Chile currently does not recognize same-sex unions.

Presidential campaign pledges

During January 2006's presidential campaign both President Michelle Bachelet and center-right candidate Sebastián Piñera voiced their support for civil unions, but the Catholic Church and many members of Congress were opposed.^{[citation needed]}

During his run-up to the presidency in 2009, Piñera vowed to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and included a gay couple in one of his televised campaign ads.^[1]

Legislative movements

Debate in favor of a civil union law in ongoing. In October 2009, a civil union bill was introduced but failed to pass.^[2]

On 3 August 2010, senator Fulvio Rossi of the Socialist Party introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the country.^[3] During the first week of September 2010, several senators backing the bill stated they would withdraw their support after talks with members of the Evangelical Church, and instead announced support for a civil union bill introduced by senator Andrés Allamand.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2011, president Piñera stated that he was in favor of an upcoming bill which would legalize a form of civil union; his stated intent was to “protect and safeguard [...] the dignity of those couples, whether of the opposite or even the same sex”.^[4]

Piñera introduced a bill to Congress in August 2011 allowing registered cohabitation. This would give unmarried partners many of the rights now enjoyed only by married couples, such as inheritance and certain social welfare and health care benefits.^[5][6] Piñera’s legislation proposed the creation of a Common-Law Agreement (Acuerdo de Vida en Pareja, AVP), which would allow same-sex couples to civilly register their partnership with a notary.^[7] Chile's national LGBT rights group, the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (MOVILH), said it was cautiously optimistic the measure would pass.^{[citation needed]}

In response to the proposed legislation and potential legal battles brewing in the country's Constitutional Court, members of Chile's Independent Democrat Union introduced a constitutional amendment on 11 August 2011, that sought to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.^[8]

Challenges in court

Chile's Constitutional Court heard arguments on 28 July 2011, regarding the constitutionality of Article 102 of the Civil Code that bans same-sex marriage. The Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the ban within a month of the hearing.^[9]

Polls

An April 2009 poll concluded that only 33.2% of Chileans were in favor of allowing same-sex couples to be married, with 65.2% opposed.^[10] However, support among young people was much higher: according to a study by the National Youth Institute of Chile, 56% of people aged between 15 and 29 supported same-sex marriage, while 51.3% supported same-sex adoption.^[11][12]

The July 2011 nation-wide CEP poll found that 52% of Chileans were in favor of granting legal rights to same-sex unions: 18% supported granting civil marriage to gay couples, while 34% preferred giving same-sex couples a "legal union". When the question is slightly rephrased, 57% of Chileans were against gay marriage where "the same rights as a heterosexual couple are guaranteed" and 27% in favor, while support for a "legal union" of same-sex couples was higher at 35%, with 57% against. In all questions, support for gay unions was higher among the younger and better educated. In the case of adoption of children by a lesbian couple, 24% were in favor and 61% against. Support was lower for male gay couples: 20% in favor and 64% against.^[13]

See also

• LGBT rights in Chile

References

1. ^ "::Boletín Trimestral del Observatorio Parlamentario::..Corporación Humanas". Observatorioparlamentario.cl. http://www.observatorioparlamentario.cl/boletines/1_trim_2011/01_10.html. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
2. ^ "Presentaron el Pacto de Unión Civil en el Parlamento chileno". Agmagazine.info. 2009-10-14. http://www.agmagazine.info/2009/10/14/presentaran-el-pacto-de-union-civil-en-el-parlamento-chileno/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
3. ^ "Chile Senator Fulvio Rossi Introduces Gay Marriage Bill". Ontopmag.com. 2010-08-03. http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=6155&MediaType=1&Category=24. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
4. ^ Johnny Payne (29 May 2011). "Chile set to allow gay civil unions". PinkPaper.com. http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/5427/29/05/2011/chile-set-to-allow-gay-civil-unions-.aspx. 
5. ^ Chile leader proposed civil unions, including gays^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Chile President Sebastian Pinera proposed civil unions". Bbc.co.uk. 2011-08-10. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14469625. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
7. ^ "Acuerdo de vida en común": Conoce de qué se trata este proyecto de ley (Spanish) El Vacanudo. 12-08-2011.
8. ^ "Chile Introduces Constitutional Gay Marriage Ban Amendment". Ontopmag.com. 2011-08-11. http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=9184&MediaType=1&Category=24. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
9. ^ "Chile’s same-sex marriage debate reaches Constitutional Court". Santiagotimes.cl. http://www.santiagotimes.cl/chile/human-rights-a-law/22085-chiles-same-sex-marriage-debate-reaches-constitutional-court. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
10. ^ (04/24/09) (2009-04-03). "Most Chileans Reject Same-sex Marriage". Angus-reid.com. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/most_chileans_reject_same_sex_marriage/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
11. ^ "Unión civil para gays y lesbianas anima debate electoral". Ipsnoticias.net. 2009-06-25. http://www.ipsnoticias.net/nota.asp?idnews=92541. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
12. ^ "Presentación de PowerPoint" (PDF). http://www.injuv.gob.cl/pdf/sondeo_juventud_final.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
13. ^ "Estudio Nacional de Opinión Pública, Junio-Julio 2011. Tema especial: Educación". Cepchile.cl. http://www.cepchile.cl/dms/lang_1/doc_4844.html. Retrieved 2011-10-03.