Senators scuttle gay rights bill

A landmark gay rights bill passed by Colombia’s Congress last week was thrown out when a group of senators used a procedural vote to change their minds.

The bill, backed by President Alvaro Uribe but opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, would grant gay couples living together for more than two years the same social security and estate inheritance guarantees as heterosexuals in common-law marriages.

It would have been the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America.

Supporters say they will reintroduce the bill in the next legislative session.