Costa Rica has become the first Central American nation to legalise same-sex marriage on Tuesday, and the sixth country in Latin America, following most recently Ecuador, which allowed it last year.
The country is the 28th United Nations member state to recognise same-sex marriage.
The Supreme Court in August 2018 ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional and gave parliament 18 months to amend laws. The provision was automatically annulled after parliament failed to act.
President Carlos Alvarado Queseda hailed the ruling, saying “today we celebrate freedom, equality and democratic institutions.”
Conservative opposition leader Fabricio Alvarodo, who lost an election bid in 2018, said “God is still God” on Twitter and protested the landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Couples held ceremonies – mostly private due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some that were broadcast – to celebrate their unions before judges and notaries after the ban was lifted at midnight.
Two women in their 20s married just after midnight in an outdoor service performed by a notary wearing a face mask who pronounced them “wife and wife.”
Despite considerable opposition from religious groups, gay marriage has become increasingly accepted in Latin America, with gay couples now allowed to marry in Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and parts of Mexico.
