Chilean president introduces same-sex marriage and adoption bill

Following through with the plans announced back in early July, president of Chile Michelle Bachelet has brought forward bill that will give same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

The news was announced at an event at the presidential palace in Santiago. In attendance was the president of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (MOVILH) Ronaldo Jiménez. Tweeting about the announcement, Jiménez announced that “The president begins the act of signing a marriage equality bill, that’s how we like Chile”.

The country’s LGBT+ policies were last thrust into the spotlight in 2012, when the MOVILH filed a lawsuit demanding same-sex couples be given the right to marriage. The MOVILH lawsuit led to a settlement in which Bachelet’s government promised to introduce a same-sex marriage and adoption bill, following the country’s recognition of civil unions back in 2015.

During the same year of Daniel Zamudio’s horrific murder. The 24-year-old gay man was beaten, killed and had swastikas carved into his body.

Zamudio’s murder sparked national outrage and brought together the LGBT+ communities of Chile, leading to the government introducing hate crime laws that included sexual orientation and gender identity. His death also led to a call for the safety of LGBT+ individuals globally, with the now galvanised Chilean LGBT+ community backing the creation of a UN expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, despite a number of countries attempting to block it.

If the bill passes Chile will join 21 countries and territories that have passed marriage equality bills, making it the sixth country in South America to legalise equal marriage.

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