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Amidst the Violence, the Struggle for Marriage Equality in Honduras

background:

Same-sex unions are not legally recognized in Honduras. In 2005, the Constitution was amended to expressly ban marriage and de facto unions between people of the same sex. The constitutional amendment also refuses to recognize same-sex marriages or unions that occurred legally in other countries (Article 112).

summary:

LGBTQ organizations in Honduras seek to have the courts throw out Article 112 of the Honduran Constitution (bans same-sex marriage) on the grounds of unconstituionality.  They are emboldened by the ruling of the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (Jan 9 2018) that same-sex marriages should be recognized. 

[The following are excerpts from this Spanish-language article translated here into English]

The appeal [regarding the unconstitutinality of the same-sex marriage law] was filed by the lesbian organization Cattrachas and sets a precedent for establishing the next steps in the struggle for sexual diversity in Central America, linked to the recent advisory opinion by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. The advisory opinion was an historic step in recognizing that member countries should adopt binding measures in favor of the rights of people of sexual diversity, including marriage equality and gender identity.

In addition to media, LGBTQ organizations have been able to achieve openness in their advocacy efforts at the international level through the recent visit of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and the national mobilization against homo-lesbo-trans phobia on May 17. 

In public opinion, there seems to be little push-back, despite the typical provocations by religious leaders, accompanied by hate messages on social networks, and the opinions of political actors aligned with misinformation agents of the government.