Colombia Rules Gay Couples Must Be Granted Same Rights as Straight

In a historic decision handed down Wednesday, Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled same-sex couples must be granted the same rights as heterosexuals in common-law marriages.

The court's decision means Colombia's gay couples will be awarded dozens of rights that straight, unmarried couples have enjoyed for years and follows other recent rulings that have won the nation's same-sex couples inheritance, pension, health, and social security rights.

The Colombian LGBT rights group Colombia Diversa, human rights group Dejusticia, and the Group for Public Interest Rights from the University of the Andes were responsible for the successful suit, filed last April.

Uruguay is the only other Latin American country to recognize same-sex unions.