Tag: Chile

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News Round-Up – February 20, 2015

Eamon and Colin Farrell

Some news stories you might have missed:

• Colin Farrell used to kick the sh*t out of his gay brother’s bullies. Go Colin!

• A Tennessee woman is charged with beating her son for acting “feminine and gay”

• Walmart has announced plans to raise their minimum wage to $10 an hour. In other news, hell has frozen over…

• Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert says the best way to deal with ISIS would be a “strategically placed nuclear weapon.” He doesn’t include a plan to deal with the nuclear fallout that would affect allies like Israel.

• Sen. Marco Rubio has missed a greater percentage of votes over the course of his career than anyone else currently in the U.S. Senate

• The government of Chile has announced it will end formal opposition to marriage equality

• Newsflash – new study shows attractive guys tend to be jerks

• TLC raises over $430,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to produce their next album

Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas and Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins of TLC

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Chile Moves Closer To Legalizing Civil Unions

Chile is one step closer to joining South American countries that support same-sex unions as that country’s House of Representatives has passed legislation to legalize civil unions by a vote of 86-23.

The bill has the backing of the Government, with President Michelle Bachelet saying that she believes civil unions are a stepping-stone towards full same-sex marriage rights.

When she became President of March 2014, Bachelet stated that the civil union bill was one of her priorities, but that marriage rights – which have proved a more divisive issue with the Chilean public according to polls – remained a long-term goal.

Some LGBT campaigners have expressed disappointment that the bill would not allow for same-sex marriage, while others have said that the bill is still welcome as a step in the right direction, reports TeleSUR.

The bill, which will now go to the Senate for expected approval, allows for the creation if the Pacto de Unión Civil (PUC), which couples who live together in a committed relationship can enter regardless of gender.

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Chile: Marriage equality moves into majority in recent poll

According to the poll of 501 nationwide households conducted by Radio Cooperativa e Imaginaccion, 54.9 percent of Chileans support gay nuptials, while 40.7 percent remain opposed.

The survey “reflects a broad and mainstream acceptance” of such unions, said El Movimiento de Integracion y Liberacion Homosexual (Movilh), the nation’s largest gay rights advocate.

“[T]he 54.9% approval of marriage between persons of the same sex is a clear sign of openness, which must be analyzed, understood and accepted by the government and to move forward in advancing approval of such unions,” the group added.

A gay marriage bill introduced more than two years ago by Senator Fulvio Rossi has yet to be debated.

Via OnTopMag.com

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Chile: Civil Unions bill on the way

From the Advocate: Chilean newspaper La Tercera reported today that the nation’s government is considering legislation that would legally recognize same-sex civil unions.

According to the Santiago-based paper, the bill — which could be presented to Congress as early as next week — would “grant legal rights to gay couples who have lived together for more than one year.”

Despite the heated debate the issue has caused in the predominantly Catholic country, last month Chilean president Sebastian Pinera was quoted by the newspaper El Mercurio as saying he wanted to safeguard “the dignity of those couples, whether of the opposite or even the same sex.”

If the legislation passes, Chile will be the fifth South American country to legalize same-sex civil unions, joining Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay. Argentina offers marriage rights to gay couples.

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Chilean President to send parliament Civil Unions bill

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera has announced that he will forward to parliament a bill that would grant both heterosexual and homosexual couples living outside of marriage the ability to access a form of civil unions granting them many of the same rights as marriage.

Pinera announced his intentions in an interview published Saturday by daily El Mercurio.

The conservative lawmaker said his bill seeks to “protect and safeguard” the civil rights of couples living outside of marriage and “safeguard the dignity of those couples, whether of opposite sex or even the same sex.”

This comes just one week after Chili’s largest LGBT rights group Movimiento Chileno de Minorias Sexuales called for a national march for marriage equality that was designed to get the President’s attention.

Majority public support for legal recognition of same-sex partners in Chili has been strong since 2004. However, same-sex marriage still polls considerably lower than civil unions.