QUARTZ: In 2010, Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, largely due to the work of LGBT activists like Esteban Paulon.
Paulon, who didn’t have a partner at the time, saw this movement as a political struggle, rather than a personal one.
“I fought for the law without knowing if I would ever get married or not,” said Paulon, vice president of the Argentine LGBT Federation. “But on the journey to this achievement, I met my partner.”
Paulon and his partner were married three years after the law was passed—turning a national political achievement into a personal milestone they were able to celebrate with their friends and family.
“If the state says that all families are equal before the law and that all families have the same worth, this inevitably has an effect on daily life and on social perception about sexual diversity,” Paulon said. “The fact of being able to access marriage is also personal.”
Since 2010, more than 15,000 same-sex couples have been married in Argentina, the tenth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. The decision illustrated Latin America’s unlikely leadership in the fight for LGBT equal rights. Indeed, the focus on the US gay rights movement has overshadowed other countries where important gains have been won. Finally, Latin America is being recognized as a major leader in the global LGBT movement by both academics and major global activists groups like Human Rights Watch. » | Anna-Catherine Brigida | Wednesday, June 6, 2018
