Sunday, December 23, 2007

Uruguay & Hungary Approve Gay Civil Unions

Two more nations legalized civil unions this week.

In a first for a Latin American country, Uruguay passed legislation on Tue., Dec. 18, to allow both same-sex and heterosexual couples to be granted civil union status after five years of cohabitation.

They will have rights similar to those granted to married couples on such matters as inheritance, pensions and child custody. The lower house passed the law in November; the Senate passed the law without a single vote against it; the president is expected to sign the bill into law.

In the formerly communist Hungary, similar freedoms are slated for the benefit of gay and lesbian families, reported The Advocate.

The Hungarian parliament approved a measure to grant civil unions to partners of the same gender. Registering a civil partnership will open the door to couples in terms of financial matters such as taxes and inheritance, but will not extend to other areas of familial protection, such as the adoption of children.

The new legislation is slated to come into effect in just over one year. Hungary joins other formerly communist countries in offering these protections to gay and lesbian families; Slovania and the Czech Republic already offer similar rights.(more)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We can only hope the US elects a Democrat (Hillary!), who can then muster the balls to allow the same for Americans.