The Uruguay Senate, in approving a bill on April 2, 2013, to legalize same-sex marriage, has moved to guarantee marriage equality and diminish discrimination, Human Rights Watch said. The vote was 23 to 8. Uruguay would be the 12th country to approve same-sex marriage nationwide. The lower house of Uruguay’s legislature voted in December 2012 to legalize same-sex marriage. The Senate bill included some modifications, including a measure to raise the minimum age for marriage to 16 for everyone, instead of the present age 12 for girls and 14 for boys. Human Rights Watch urges all countries to eliminate child marriage and to adopt 18 as a minimum age for marriage for both sexes.
Reconciling Uruguay's Senate and House marriage equality bills is a formality. This is a done deal: marriage equality is coming to Uruguay.
