Same Sex Marriages Proposed
A group who are defending the rights of gays and lesbians in Costa Rica presented this week a proposal to the Asamblea Legislativa that legailizes same sex marriages.

Francisco Madrigal, director of the Centro de Investigación y Promoción de Derechos Humanos (CIPAC), explains that the project proposes to eliminate Article 42 of the Código de Familia (Family Code) that only permits marriages between a man and a woman.

The proposal put forth by CIPAC is to legalize marriages of homosexuals who have lived together for at least four years.

There many benefits to a same sex marriage, similar to a traditional marriage, being the availability of the Seguro Social in the event of serious illness and the visitation rights that are awarded to spouses at the state hospitals. In the event of a death, the surviving spouse has rights, the same rights of a surviving spouse in a traditional marriage.

If married, the homosexual couple can now also get approved for a mortgage loan and other financial benefits, similar to what a traditional couple could derive from the financial sector.

The Bishops at the Conferencia Episcopal this week showed favour towards the proposed change in the lase.

The president of the Conferencia, Monseñor Francisco Ulloa, said "if at a legal level there are benefits to others and that can also be given to them (homosexuals), then I see no problem."

The Bishop for San Carlos, Ángel San Casimiro, affirmed that he will support the proposal as long as it does not pretend to equate a homosexual union to that of a traditional marriage.