Firstly this week, the National Assembly of Bhutan voted to decriminalise homosexuality. Then the High Court in Botswana ruled to do the same. Lastly, in Ecuador the Constitutional Court yesterday ruled to allow same-sex marriage in the Andean country.
Judges ruled 5-4 to approve same-sex marriage as they also granted two gay couples the right to marry.
A number of couples and gay rights advocates continually challenged the court to improve LGBTIQ rights in Ecuador.
Because of their persistence the country now enjoys marriage equality.
After the ruling, lawyer Christian Paula said, “It means that Ecuador is more egalitarian, it is more just than yesterday, that it recognizes that human rights must be for all people without discrimination.”
#AHORA El Pleno de la @CorteConstEcu conoce la consulta de la Corte de Pichincha sobre si puede o no aplicar la opinión consultiva de la #CorteIDH a favor del #MatrimonioIgualitarioEC. Colectivos #GLBTI se concentran fuera de la Corte @eluniversocom pic.twitter.com/Ajd1qsJPyu
— Gladys Rivadeneira (@GYRivadeneira) June 4, 2019
No tengo palabras, no sé cómo expresarlo. Esto es increíble. La @CorteConstEcu aprobó #MatrimonioIgualitarioEC y @Gaby3081 y yo nos vamos a casar 👰🏻👰🏼💪🏽🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/TR8QoJLrRG
— Pamela Troya 💚👭🌈💜 (@pametroya) June 12, 2019
South America LGBTIQ rights
Prior to the ruling, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia already recognised same-sex marriage.
Therefore the court’s ruling makes Ecuador the fifth country on the continent to allow same-sex marriage.
“Today is a historic day,” said activist Freddy Veloz Baez.
“The Constitutional Court has stood on the right side of history.”
They “recognized that all Ecuadorians deserve the same rights, no matter our sexual orientation or gender identity.
“This fight started in 2013 and could have never be achieved without all the couples that stood against bigotry and decided to protest the Government’s lack of respect for their dignity and rights as citizens.
“There is still a long road ahead in order to end homophobia in our society, but today we celebrate.
“For all the couples that will be able to marry and for the future generations, this will be a day to be remembered.”
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