By Brad Sears, UCLA School of Law:
When comparisons about gay rights are made between the United States and other countries, they are most often drawn between the U.S. and Europe. While many countries in Europe have leapt ahead in protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, a region of the world much closer to home is now taking the lead: Latin America.
Latin America's emergence as a global leader in LGBT rights was apparent last December, when Argentina led 66 nations in affirming the extension of international human rights protections to the LGBT community in a statement to the United Nations General Assembly. Twelve of those 66 countries were from Latin America. The U.S. declined to sign the statement.
Latin America's role at the U.N. Assembly was not surprising. In June 2008, the 34 members of the Organization of American States unanimously approved a similar declaration.
Latin America's international leadership on LGBT issues is built on a number of advances in individual countries. By the time the U.S. Supreme Court declared the remaining U.S. state sodomy laws unconstitutional in 2003, all but two Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America had already done so, some decades earlier. The two outliers of the region, Nicaragua and Panama, have since repealed their sodomy laws.
Unlike the U.S., Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela all have national laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The new constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. If the U.S. Congress takes up Employment Non-Discrimination Act again this year, it will be joining Brazil and Chile in considering anti-discrimination legislation.
Uruguay, Ecuador and Colombia also provide national recognition to same-sex couples, as do states in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. While a number of states in the U.S. also recognize same-sex couples, the U.S. has no federal law protecting gay couples.
Of course, things are not perfect for LGBT people in Latin America. Transgender individuals, in particular, continue to face high levels of discrimination and there remain insufficient protections for LGBT parents. As is the case in the United States and Europe, legal protections also do not always match the level of social acceptance. Especially outside of larger cities, LGBT people continue to suffer from acts of hate and violence.
This week, leading advocates, scholars and public officials are exploring LGBT rights in Latin America during a four-day international conference hosted by UCLA's Williams Institute. The Global Arc of Justice conference includes free public events in West Hollywood and at UCLA that bring together high-profile Latin Americans fighting on the frontlines for LGBT equality.
Last fall, just over half of California Latino voters supported Proposition 8 and opposed marriage equality. This week's conference brings home the reality that the struggle for LGBT equality is not an agenda item unique to the Anglo-white community. Rather, it is a very real part of the greater Latino family in the Western Hemisphere. Having a greater understanding of this reality will make a difference to LGBT people in our communities, and might make a difference if we are called on to vote on LGBT rights again.
Brad Sears is the executive director of the Williams Institute and an adjunct professor at UCLA School of Law, where he teaches courses on disability law and sexual orientation law.
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