Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled Thursday in favor of marriage equality for the nation’s same-sex couples. Colombia is now the 20th country worldwide to embrace full marriage equality for all of its citizens.
“Today’s ruling by Colombia’s Constitutional Court marks an important moment for LGBT Colombians, and we congratulate the country’s many LGBT advocates who helped make this day possible,” said Jean Freedberg, Deputy Director of HRC Global. “Following victories for LGBT advocates in Ireland in May and in the United States in June, today’s ruling makes clear that global momentum for marriage equality has continued to grow, and we’re hopeful that other nations will provide same-sex couples the right to marry the person they love in the year ahead.”
The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled in 2011 that same-sex couples should be entitled to the same protections as other couples, however they also ruled that the Colombian Congress needed to pass legislation addressing the issue of marriage equality within two years. When the Colombian Congress failed to do that, same-sex couples started applying for marriage licenses across the country. Some of these couples were granted licenses, while others were denied. Ultimately, the couples who were refused licenses brought the matter to the court to decide. Today, the court ruled in favor of equality.
The situation for LGBT people around the world varies widely. As some countries embrace equality, in others, LGBT people continue to suffer from discrimination, persecution, and violence.
- 20 countries now have full marriage equality and in an additional two countries same-sex marriage is legal in certain jurisdictions.
- But in up to 10 countries worldwide, same-sex activity is punishable by death, and 75 countries criminalize same-sex relationships. Hundreds of transgender individuals have been brutally murdered in the last year.
- In a growing number of countries, governments have sought to silence equality advocates and organizations with so-called “anti-propaganda” laws and legislation.
