By Lori Adelman • @ladelman • 13 years ago

Quick Hit: Latin America Ahead of U.S. on Same-Sex Marriage

Amidst all the hateful hype surrounding Prop 8 in CA, it can be easy to lose perspective on the same sex marriage “debate” and forget that it’s actually quite a straightforward issue, a matter of common sense and a basic human right. An opinion piece in today’s LA Times gives us a much-needed reminder of this, providing some perspective with the bold headline “Latin America ahead of U.S. on same-sex marriage.”

The article is definitely worth a read. It points out that countries like Mexico and Argentina have been able to recognize “that religion and civil law have different roles to perform in marriage, something absent in the debate in the U.S.” and highlights some of the most recent and significant legal achievements won for LGBTQI rights.

Earlier this week, as part of the Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice, I wrote about this strategic work by feminists in Latin America to ensure the separation of church and state. This article expands on that trend and highlights some of the great strides Latin America has made toward ending discrimination against queer folks. Hopefully other regions of the world- including the U.S.- will get the memo soon.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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