Uruguay next to move on marriage

Uruguay is set to become the 12th nation in the world and the second Latin American country to allow gay marriage after Lower House lawmakers voted in favour of it on Tuesday night.

The marriage equality bill will now go to the Senate where the ruling coalition, which holds a majority, is expected to pass the law.

President Jose Mujica will reportedly sign the bill into law early next year.

The bill will provide a single governing marriage law for both heterosexual and homosexual couples.

It will also reform outdated divorce laws so that men have the right to renounce marriage vows without cause and clarify adoption and in-vitro fertilisation so that it is not limited to just a man and a woman.

According to Associated Press, the debate around marriage equality paled compared to the debate surrounding the issue of surnames for children.

In secular-dominated Uruguay and other Latin American countries, children receive both surnames, with the father’s first.

But the proposal will allow couples, gay or straight, to decide whose surname goes first for their children which steers away from centuries of tradition.

Australian marriage equality advocates have welcomed the legislation’s passage through the Uruguayan Lower House, saying the move further embarrasses Australia.

“The majority of Australians who support marriage equality will feel angry and frustrated that their country has fallen further and further behind on this vital issue,” Australian Marriage Equality national convenor Rodney Croome said.

“Frankly, it is embarrassing that a country like Australia, which prides itself on being fair and equitable, is falling behind the human rights standards being set in South America.”

The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina and Denmark have already passed gay marriage laws, with expectations France, England, Wales and New Zealand will join them in 2013. Nine US states also allow same-sex couples to wed.