Costa Rica Supreme Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
The Costa Rican Supreme Court has ruled the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, essentially giving the country 18 months to change its laws, the BBC reports.
The ruling allows the country’s legislatures a year and a half to bring new laws into effect, if they fail to do so by the deadline equal marriage will become legal by default.
The Court’s decision is monumental, following an ugly Presidential election which brought the issue to boiling point. Winning President Carlos Alvarado openly supported LGBT+ rights and promised to fight for equal marriage, while his opponent, pastor Fabricio Alvarado, spouted homophobic messages and vowed to uphold the ban.
Yet, Enrique Sanchez, the country’s first openly gay legislator, doesn’t have hope the government’s current assembly will work together to change the laws. Of the legislative chamber’s 57 seats, 14 of them are held by evangelicals. Sanchez instead believes LGBT+ Costa Ricans will have to wait 18 months until the deadline expires.
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