Peruvian court opens door to legally recognize same-sex couples
FILE PHOTO: Participants attend the LGBTQ+ Pride Parade, after it being canceled for two years due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Lima, Peru, on June 25, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda/File Photo
LIMA — A Peruvian high court has ordered same-sex unions to be legally registered in public records, marking a victory for the LGBTQ community in a country that has been reluctant to recognize gay couples.
The ruling, published on Friday, followed a case brought by a gay Peruvian citizen who sued the registration office for refusing to record her 2019 marriage overseas, saying her constitutional rights were violated.
Representatives of the office were not immediately available for comment.
Peru is one of the few countries in Latin America that has not recognized same-sex marriage, though it is not illegal to be gay.
READ: Same-sex marriage now legal in 30 countries
A 2021 survey by Ipsos found that 68% of people in Peru were in favor of same-sex marriage or other legal recognition. However, 61% disapproved of gay people in public office.
The Lima court ordered the records office to “proceed with the registration” of the woman’s marriage, the Superior Court of Justice of Lima said on Twitter.
The court declared “inapplicable” an article of the Peruvian Civil Code of 1984 on the family, which refers to marriage as the voluntary union between a man and a woman.
It is likely that an appeal against the ruling will be lodged.
READ: Vatican says Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions
In 2020, a gay couple took Peru to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights after they lost a bid for recognition of their Mexican marriage certificate.
At the time, the constitutional court ruled that the civil registry of Peru only recognizes the marriage between a man and a woman.
Other countries in South America, including Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Colombia, have legalized gay marriage in recent years.
READ: Radical shift: Pope backs same-sex civil unions
