Same-sex Marriages Now Legal in Ecuador

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador announced yesterday that it approves same-sex marriages, said France Press. The country's 2008 constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the agency recalls.

The court said in a statement that the marriage between two persons of the same sex was approved by five of his nine magistrates in a closed session. The four judges who voted against argued that in order to recognize a homosexual marriage, it is necessary first to be legalized through constitutional changes.

"This means that Ecuador is more egalitarian, fairer than yesterday that human rights are the same for all without discrimination," added Christian Paula, lawyer at the Pact Foundation, who advises a dozen same-sex couples wishing to marry.

"The decision of the Constitutional Court is mandatory and will have to be enforced in the country," the former Supreme Court president and former Chief Prosecutor Gustavo Medina told AFP.

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