Uruguay Legalizes Gay Marriage -Wednesday April 10,2013

Uruguayan lawmakers voted Wednesday April 10,2013 to legalize gay marriage, making the South American country the third(after Canada and Argentina) in the Americas to do so.The bill received the backing of 71 members of the 92-seat chamber of deputies(Lower House)
The Marriage Equality Law was approved by the Senate last week by 23 votes to 8.

In all, 12 nations around the world now have taken this step as of April 2013.  They are -

• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Norway
• Sweden
• Denmark
• Spain
• Portugal
• Canada
• South Africa
• Argentina
• Iceland and 
• Uruguay

President Jose Mujica, whose governing Broad Front majority backed the law, is expected to put it into effect within 10 days.

Uruguay's Roman Catholic Church asked lawmakers to vote their conscience and challenged the label of "marriage equality" as a false pretext, saying it's "not justice but an inconsistent assimilation that will only further weaken marriage."

The legislation also updates divorce laws in Uruguay, which in 1912 gave women only the right to unilaterally renounce their wedding vows as a sort of equalizer to male power. Now either spouse will be able to unilaterally request a divorce and get one. The law also raises the age when people can legally marry from 12 years old for girls and 14 for boys to 16 for both genders.