Chile could be closer to becoming the fourth South American nation to legalize same-sex marriage. A new bill will be introduced to the Chilean senate later this week that would legalize gay marriage and has support from Chile's major political parties and President Michelle Bachelet.

The bill to reform Chile's marriage law to include same-sex marriage will be introduced by Wednesday or Thursday, according to Gay Star News.

Backed by legislators from the Christian Democrats (DC), Party for Democracy (PPD) and the ruling Socialist Party (SP), as well as the center-right Amplitude movement, the same-sex marriage bill could succeed in the Chilean legislature.

Pushing for the bill has been the Chilean LGBT rights group Movilh, which stands for Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation. The group first announced the news about the bill, which deputies Gabriel Silber (DC) y Daniel Farcas (PPD) will introduce this week.

Sponsoring the bill are various members from the four parties as well as one member of the Liberal Party, according to Movilh.

The law would modify the marriage law's wording from "the rights and duties of husband and wife" to "the rights and duties of the spouses." The word "procreate" will also be replaced to "raise" to "guarantee equality for same-sex couples," explained Movilh.

The organization welcomed the decision to move forward with the bill, congratulating "the legislators of the Christian Democrats and each one of the deputies that are sponsoring this project, for they are helping move forward equality and the eradication of homophobia in our laws."

"Equal feelings, must have equal rights -- there is no reason to have first and second-class citizens," Sibler explained according to MDZ Online. "We hope that the government sponsors the initiative and drives its progress by giving it proper priority. We will meet with government ministers once we table the bill, for co-sponsorship."

This is not Chile's first attempt at improving the lives of LGBT couples. Earlier this year, the Senate approved a civil union bill that would grant same-sex couples most of the same rights as straight couples, according to TeleSur. However, the bill has stalled in the lower house.

President Bachelet has also spoken of her support for same-sex marriage, promising equality for same-sex couples after winning reelection last year. However, the spokesperson for the presidency said the government's focus is now the civil unions bill.

Related