Same-sex marriage in Argentina: 15 years since the law that strengthened democracy
After years of struggle, the LGBT movement achieved one of its most important achievements with the approval of same-sex marriage. Argentina was the first country in Latin America to have this right and the tenth in the world. Activists share their experiences as activists and their lives after marriage.
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The night of July 15, 2010, was unforgettable, not only for the law's passage, which took place in the early hours of the morning, but also for the cold. Argentina became the first country in Latin America to enact Marriage Equality. The law's passage was the result of more than 30 years of activism for LGBT rights and the political determination of the government led by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Vilma Ibarra and Silvia Ausgburger drafted the initial bill, and Juliana Di Tullio presented the final bill (initially presented by Eduardo Di Pollina). It sparked a series of heated debates both inside and outside the chamber.
Marcelo Ferreyra has been an LGBT rights activist since the 1980s. Along with figures such as Carlos Jáuregui and César Cigliutti, he campaigned for civil rights. “At that time, we were in the midst of the HIV pandemic, and we saw many cases where relationships were not legally recognized when one partner died, leaving the other out on the street. Or relatives who had never cared for the deceased would appear to claim property,” he recalls of those early days when he began weaving the debate for equal marriage.
At that time, Ferreyra recalls, the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) had other priorities, but "based on these experiences stemming from the issue of couples facing the HIV context, we began to consider that legal recognition of partnerships was truly a necessary issue," he adds.
Rights for all
María Rachid, head of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender People (FALGBT), recalls that when the vote in favor of the vote was heard in front of the National Congress, the square erupted. "With emotion, with joy, with accumulated anguish due to uncertainty," she recalls.
“That approval wasn't just about the specific rights entailed by same-sex marriage—the right to leave a pension to your loved ones, the right to inheritance, and the right to share in social security. The main thing was the recognition of equality by the State. This was a key tool for continuing to work against the discrimination and violence that our community and LGBT people in Argentina and around the world still experience. Without this message of equality from the State, it is very difficult to build real equality.”
José María Di Bello, an LGBT rights activist and protagonist of the first equal marriage in Argentina, also emphasizes the notion of equality. “The fight wasn't for the institution of marriage, it was because we were at a disadvantage, unequal. The law introduces legal equality, and that legal equality drives social and cultural change. This is the most difficult transformation. It's the one that's now faltering, for example, due to hate speech and the social shift toward a conservative right, starting with the government.”
“ The Equal Marriage Law subsequently promoted a large number of positions and new rights, or recognition and restoration of rights. Two years later, the Gender Identity Law came, and all of this had to do precisely with that construction and that social and cultural transformation that equal marriage began to bring about.”
Building new struggles
The night of July 15th was marked by uncertainty after a difficult and exhausting process that ended in infinite joy, recalls Martín Canevaro, a member of 100% Diversity and Rights. “That approval meant that the LGBTI+ movement was recognized as a relevant social actor in our country and a process of greater political participation for our community was deepened. But the fundamental thing was the ability to build plural and transversal consensus to expand rights.”
"At the level of society and its institutions, it allowed us to move beyond the realm of medical discourse that historically pathologized us and into the realm of human rights, initiating a process of social recognition and appreciation of sexual and familial diversity. Basically, it reduced the social costs of the visibility of those of us who do not conform to the mandate of heterocisnorm and increased levels of freedom to express the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities, especially for young people," adds the LGBT activist.
Canevaro married Carlos Álvarez Nazareno on April 15, 2010, two months before the law was passed. “Judge Guillermo Sheibler's ruling declared the unconstitutionality of the articles of the old Civil Code that were interpreted as an impediment, and that led to a fiscal appeal against the scheduled civil ceremony date, with all the preparations having to be suspended. At that time, making yourself visible to file an injunction implied a level of exposure that was difficult for most couples to sustain. We are proud to have been able to make that contribution,” she says.
For Mónica Santino, a lesbian and LGBT activist, the law "changed the nature or the way we view our bonds and relationships. I didn't show vacation photos, or my friend showed them to me. There were a number of issues that had to do with that kind of secrecy, and what same-sex marriage does is equalize."
And he adds, "It was clearing up a number of relationships that had perhaps been hidden for a time, especially among older couples. All of that was wonderful, those years that followed between 2010 and 2015. In the early days, it felt like I'd emerged from a hidden zone."
The law also protected children
In addition to equality, José María Di Bello recalls the importance of legal protection for children, which many couples—lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender—already had.
«They said 'no, because then they'll want to adopt,' but adoptions were already taking place. There are hundreds of thousands of couples who had adopted, but the legal guardianship over that child was only held by one of those two adults. In other words, if the adult who had adopted the child died, they weren't necessarily left in the care of the other person; sometimes it depended on the court. And in general, that didn't happen; they returned to children's homes, and this is the lack of legal protection, the same with social security, etc. So, that child was also in a situation of inequality compared to children who were children of heterosexual couples and who had been able to marry and were adopted by those couples.»
Lesbian kisses
“When I was 22, my partner and I went to the Civil Registry. We exchanged our favorite numbers. Marian told me it was 13, and mine was 5. So, we got married on May 13,” says Rocío. Eight years ago, her partner was the third couple to access same-sex marriage through the Olavarría registry office. Rocío recalls being “hyper-romanticized” and that, at least she didn’t fully grasp what it meant to have accessed that right. That was until two years later, when, at the Constitución Marian station, her partner was arrested for kissing her.
“We're grateful to have been married at that time. Having that booklet and the proof of marriage was a tool to say, 'Tell me where they're transferring my wife,'” says Rocío. She distantly remembers the day the law was passed because she was a teenager. “I have memories of seeing Norma and Cachita, of that possibility of getting married, and of understanding that from then on, it was possible to 'fit in,'” she adds.
Living love in equality
When they decided to get married, Mónica Santino and her partner had been together for 13 years. They wanted to get married under Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's government and did so in November 2015. "It was like a tribute, a political recognition of the desire to have this law. We also wanted a legal framework for our daughters."
For María Rachid, the law meant protecting her family, her partner, and having a child. “It wasn't just the same-sex marriage laws; there were many other important laws for our families, like the assisted human reproduction law, without which we wouldn't have been able to have the beautiful son we have today. That equality, but also those rights, changed our lives. Another possible and beautiful life.”
Although he didn't really believe in marriage, Marcelo Ferreyra got married in 2013. "When we bought the property where we live, we were looking at how to get the paperwork done, and the lawyer told us the easiest thing to do was get married," he says, laughing. Today, he and his husband have a three-year-old daughter, and he adds that they don't experience any hostility from society. "I've been an activist for 30 years, and it's a very powerful and gratifying change," he reflects.
There are no national statistics on same-sex marriage, but there are statistics by jurisdiction. According to the General Directorate of Statistics and Census (GCBA), from 2010 to 2024, there were 300 marriages between women and 394 between men.
A law to defend
The current government's attacks on the LGBT community were numerous. The most violent was the Davos speech, in which he linked LGBT people to pedophilia. The speech was rejected by a massive march that was replicated across the country. This reaction, according to activists, is a sign that Argentine society, despite the hate speech, has settled the debate with LGBT people. "The Davos speech was a turning point. Society isn't stupid, and I trust in that, in a critical unity," says Rocío. Rachid adds, "At the time, there was a society that celebrated the passage of the same-sex marriage law and today defends that great achievement. It's no coincidence that the first major mobilization against Javier Milei's far-right government was in response to the Davos speech."
Activities
-Organized by various LGBT groups, there will be a "Libretazo por el amor y la igualdad" (Libretazo for Love and Equality) on Monday, July 14 at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Civil Registry, Uruguay 753, Buenos Aires City.
-On the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Equal Marriage Law, a talk will be held at the Patria Institute with the participation of María Rachid, Franco Torchia, and Agustín Rossi.
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