Versión Español
EspañolThe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community in Panama is protesting the adoption of the new Code of Private International Law, approved on May 8. The code prohibits same-sex marriages in Panama and clarifies that the country will not recognize the legality of these marriages if performed in another country.
The President of the Association of New Men and Women of Panama, Ricardo Beteta, told the newspaper La Prensa on Sunday, that their members “are extremely concerned,” and consider this new law a violent act that criminalizes the LGBT community. He also stated that this new policy will discourage LGBT issues from being addressed by the public, making LGBT citizens “invisible” to the rest of society and create a “worse kind of discrimination.”
Agustín Clément, a LGBT activist, described the new law as “a blow to human rights.” Clément said he had given up hope in politics when the recently elected president, Juan Carlos Varela, signed a pact of “National Commitment for Life and Traditional Family,” which upholds marriage as the union “between a man and a woman.”
Source: La Prensa.
