First Same Sex Marriage in Bolivia

First same-sex marriage officially approved in Bolivia
For the first time in Bolivian history, a gay marriage was officially recognized.

48-year-old economist David Aruquipa and 46-year-old lawyer Guido Montano came out of the civil registry office, where they had returned empty-handed many times, this time with official marriage certificates.

Aruquipa “Of course we are happy to be the first and to pave the way. But also this brings a lot of responsibility. “What we have achieved is only a first step towards the day when the diversity of Bolivia can fully reveal itself,” he said.

For 3 Years Legal Struggle

The couple, who met in the capital La Paz in 2008 and have lived together since then, first officially applied to get married in 2018. However, the authorities rejected their applications, citing Article 68 of the Constitution, which states that marriage can only be made between heterosexual couples.

However, the couple appealed to the Constitutional Court of Bolivia against this decision. The Constitutional Court reversed the rejection of the couple’s marriage application last week. As a result, the civil registry office officially registered the marriage in compliance with the Constitutional Court’s decision, and thus, for the first time in Bolivia’s history, a same-sex marriage was officially recognized.

The Netherlands became the first country where the marriage of same-sex couples was officially accepted with the enactment of the law that accepted same-sex marriages in the Parliament in 2000, and Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen had married four same-sex couples on April 1, 2001, when the law came into effect.