Chile's Pinera to push same-sex marriage bill

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera announced his support for same-sex marriage in an address to the nation on Tuesday, turning the tide in a historically conservative country.

"I think we should deepen the value of freedom, including the freedom to love and to form a family with a loved one. The time has come to guarantee this freedom and dignity to all people. I think the time has come for same-sex marriage in our country."

Chile’s LGBT+ community has long pushed for legislation, but the country’s ruling conservative party has been slow to advance a bill in Congress.

Chilean lawmakers passed a measure in 2015 that empowered same-sex couples to register for a Civil Union, but a sweeping gay marriage bill proposed in 2017 has been stalled in Congress for years.

Pinera said on Tuesday he’ll expedite that bill.

If passed into law, Chile would join the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and parts of Mexico, where same-sex couples are granted the right to marry.