Costa Rican government to support same-sex unions bill

The Costa Rican government announced Monday afternoon that President Laura Chinchilla would support same-sex unions.

After Presidency Ministry officials met with several gay-rights activists, led by the Diversity Movement, a ministry spokesman said the president would propose legislation that would give economic rights to gay couples in Costa Rica.

An original bill promoting equal rights for gay couples was voted down by a Legislative Assembly committee earlier this summer. However, gay-rights groups had been meeting with government officials to try to gain the administration’s support for the legislation.

The president’s chief of staff, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, told the daily La Nación that the government would support gay unions since the measure does not affect the Family Code, which defines and regulates marriage in the country.