Colombia

Colombia, big on human rights violations, haven for drug and arms traffickers, and ahead of the US on LGBT rights:

Colombia is set to become the first Latin American country to give established gay couples the same rights to health insurance, inheritance and social security benefits as heterosexual couples under a bill passed by Congress and expected to take effect soon. Some states and cities in Latin America, among them Mexico City and Buenos Aires, have passed similar laws, but no other country in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic region has done so at a national level, said Marcela Sánchez of the gay rights group Colombia Diversa. Congress’s lower house passed the bill, 62 to 43, late Thursday. The Senate passed a similar version in April. The two chambers must now agree on a unified text before sending it to President Álvaro Uribe, who backs it.

TTags: gays and straights, civil rights