Colombian Gay Dream Blows Away

Colombian conservatives killed the queer high yesterday after they squashed a comprehensive gay rights bill.

The bill, which passed last week, would guarantee gays many of the same rights enjoyed by their straight countrymen. President Alvaro Uribe supported the bill, but his political allies weren’t having it. El Tiempo reports via Blabbeando:

…Several Uribe-allies from the “La Ú” party did not endorse the initiative… The decision drew an irate reaction from senator Armando Benedetti, the main sponsor of the bill, who requested the expulsion of those who voted against the project from “La Ú.”

Though it may seem like dark days, pro-gay activists have sworn to avenge the bill’s death.

Los Angeles Times reports: A landmark gay rights bill passed by Colombia’s Congress last week was thrown out when a group of senators used a procedural vote to change their minds.

The bill, backed by President Alvaro Uribe but opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, would grant gay couples living together for more than two years the same social security and estate inheritance guarantees as heterosexuals in common-law marriages.

It would have been the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America.

Supporters say they will reintroduce the bill in the next legislative session.