07 Apr Buenos Aires may allow foreign gay couples to marry in the city
Argentina, which extended the definition of marriage in 2010 to include same-sex couples, and was the first country in Latin America to do so, may make it legal for gay foreigners to get married on their soil, and in Buenos Aires, in particular.
Just last month, Simón Cazal and Sergio Lopez, both of Paraguay, became the first foreign same-sex couple to get married in Argentina. The ceremony took place in Rosario, a city roughly 300 km northwest of Buones Aires where no right of residency is required for marriage, same-sex or heterosexual.
The federal government in Argentina had already promised that the Same-Sex Marriage Act would be amended to include LGBT visitors from other countries. Now, a lawmaker in Buenos Aires has introduced a draft bill in the City Legislature to allow foreign gay couples to marry therein without the need for a local address.
According to the proposed draft, non-resident gay and lesbian couples will only be asked to present the authorities with a photocopy of their passport, containing an entry stamp, temporary address and the duration of their visit to Argentina.
There is at the moment no specific indication of a time-frame as to when the bill might become legally binding.