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Costa Rica became the latest country to legalise same-sex marriage early Tuesday when a ruling from its supreme court went into effect ending the country's ban.
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Couples held ceremonies — mostly private due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some that were broadcast — to celebrate their unions before judges and notaries after the ban was lifted at midnight.
Two women in their 20s married just after midnight in an outdoor service performed by a notary wearing a face mask who pronounced them “wife and wife."
Costa Rica is the sixth country in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage, following most recently Ecuador, which allowed it last year. It is also permitted in some parts of Mexico.
The issue took center stage in Costa Rica's 2018 presidential election after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued an opinion that countries like Costa Rica, which had signed the American Convention on Human Rights, had to move immediately to legalize gay marriage.
It helped propel President Carlos Alvarado to victory over an evangelical candidate, Fabricio Alvarado, who had campaigned against it.
In August 2018, Costa Ricas supreme court said the countrys ban was unconstitutional and gave the congress 18 months to correct it or it would happen automatically. The Legislative Assembly did not act, so at midnight the law banning same-sex marriage was nullified.
Issued on: Modified:
Costa Rica became the latest country to legalise same-sex marriage early Tuesday when a ruling from its supreme court went into effect ending the country's ban.
Advertising
Read more
Couples held ceremonies — mostly private due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some that were broadcast — to celebrate their unions before judges and notaries after the ban was lifted at midnight.
Two women in their 20s married just after midnight in an outdoor service performed by a notary wearing a face mask who pronounced them “wife and wife."
Costa Rica is the sixth country in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage, following most recently Ecuador, which allowed it last year. It is also permitted in some parts of Mexico.
The issue took center stage in Costa Rica's 2018 presidential election after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued an opinion that countries like Costa Rica, which had signed the American Convention on Human Rights, had to move immediately to legalize gay marriage.
It helped propel President Carlos Alvarado to victory over an evangelical candidate, Fabricio Alvarado, who had campaigned against it.
In August 2018, Costa Ricas supreme court said the countrys ban was unconstitutional and gave the congress 18 months to correct it or it would happen automatically. The Legislative Assembly did not act, so at midnight the law banning same-sex marriage was nullified.
