Costa Rica lawmakers accidentally approve same-sex unions

Costa Rica may have accidentally approved same-sex unions.

Costa Rican lawmakers approved a bill on Monday that changed article 22 of the ‘Law of Young People’ according to local newspaper La Nación. The text previously stated that unions were only recognized if they were between a man and a woman.

According to the Huffington Post, conservative lawmakers realized they accidentally approved same-sex unions by voting for the new bill that recognizes:

“The right to recognition without discrimination contrary to human dignity, social and economic effects of domestic partnerships that constitute publicly, notoriously unique and stable, with legal capacity for marriage for more than three years” And they’re freaking out.

Lawmaker Manrique Oviedo of the PAC (Citizen Action Party) is urging President Laura Chinchilla to veto the bill, stating that he “feels deceived” and “he made a mistake” when he voted for it, according to Amelia Rueda Al Aire.

Justo Orozco, of the Costa Rican Renovation party, said the case would have to be looked into since “you can't give rights to those who don’t deserve them.”

Yet, according to Lawmaker Jose Maria Villalta, a member of the leftist Broad Front Party , the conservative lawmakers simply didn’t read the entire bill before approving it. He said this has now ‘opened the door for recognizing the rights of same-sex unions,’ according to SDP Noticias.

If the bill passes Costa Rica would join the five Latin American countries that have approved same-sex unions. Brazil was the most recent to do so on May 14, 2013.

-The Huffington Post