The Construction and Enactment of Same-Sex Marriage in Argentina

Democratic Values, Religiosity, and Support for Same-Sex Marriage in Latin America

“…Likewise, Evangelical legislators in Brazil introduced antihomosexual legislation in the state of Rio de Janeiro (Encarnación 2011, 116). Religious elite opposition has been framed around historically dominant natural law conceptions of the family and sexuality that equate sex with reproduction and that view homosexual activities to be sinful and immoral (Hiller 2010;Schulenberg 2012;Díez 2015). For example, in the days following the enactment of same-sex marriage in Mexico City, Mexico's cardinal, Norberto Rivera Carrera, declared that same-sex marriage was "immoral" and an "aberration," as it "open[s] the door to the perverse possibility that they [gays and lesbians] can adopt innocent children" (Zaragoza 2009).…”

Another Kind of Pink Tide? An Investigation into the Rapid Expansion of LGBT Rights in Latin America

“…Fast-forwarding quickly to the 21 st century, it becomes clear that not all LGBT rights advocates necessarily strive toward the same goals, as the relatively recent 2 FALGBT, an umbrella organization consisting of several independent groups, has emphasized partner recognition while CHA has traditionally sought a broader based of rights, e.g. adoption, eliminating discrimination in employment, HIV/AIDS activism, et al (Schulenberg, 2012).…”

“…What is more, prior to its recognition, the Argentinian Supreme Court defended the lack of legal status based on Catholic teachings (Brown, 2002, p. 90). 2 FALGBT formed in 2006 (Schulenberg, 2012). Catholic authorities (Merentes, 2000).…”

“…Interestingly, although the Catholic Church has been the most outspoken, visible, and obvious opponent of such policy measures as same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination statutes, it has seen little success in actually stemming the tide of LGBT rights. While there were successful blocks or delays in Venezuela (Merentes, 2000), the Argentine judiciary (Schulenberg, 2012), and Chile (Núñez González, 2010), they ultimately failed in the countries that have seen the most substantial progress. As Goldfrank and Rowell (2012) point out, Church leaders in states with little regard for secularity have been the most reluctant to speak out against state abuses.…”

“…In lieu of measuring the overall wealth of the LGBT rights organizations within each country, we will track the number of reported movements in each country for each year studied, and examine whether consolidation has taken place. The act of consolidation can serve as a stand-in for the overall resource mobilization and professionalism of a country's social movement groups, even if it is an indirect or imperfect measure (Schulenberg, 2010;Piatti-Crocker, 2010;Schulenberg, 2012). The main rationale for this stems from the fact that groups that have formed from the splicing of previously splintered movements will likely have had more time to develop and will thus be more sophisticated on the whole.…”