Argentina-a-“goo-goo”

The Farach-Colton Family (l-r: Julia, Andrew, Martin and Lucas)

For those who were caught unguarded when Spain, a heavily Catholic country, allowed same-sex partners to marry starting this past July, you might want to look down “South America-way” and watch Argentina fall in love with five-year old twins Julia and Lucas Farach-Colton. Their two dads, Martín and Andrew - who became fathers thanks to a surrogate mother and were married in Canada recently - were in Argentina this month exploring the possibility of moving there with the whole family.

"Just as we were pushed out of here by authoritarian forces almost forty years ago, we are thinking of moving back because the United States is not what it used to be. The Republicans are encouraging discrimination and it is not in our interest to raise our kids in an anti-gay, ultra-religious and fascist space,” said Argentina-born Martin at a press conference, according to Clarin.

The press-conference, put together on Wednesday by the LGBT-rights organization Comunidad Homosexual Argentina (CHA), came after weeks of intense media attention on reports that an anonymous lesbian couple in the city of Cordoba were about to give birth to a child which was conceived by artificial insemination - and gave a face to the issue of gay parenting in a way that Argentina had not seen to date (this morning La Mañana de Cordoba reported that the couple from Cordoba had actually given birth to a healthy baby girl on Tuesday) .

The CHA has been lobbying hard to expand recognition of the landmark 2002 same-sex civil union law beyond Buenos Aires (which remains the only municipality in South America to have passed such a bill). CHA President César Cigliutti says that next month they will begin working with allies in the Argentinean senate on drafting the language to introduce a bill that would extend coverage to the rest of Argentina and make sure to include inheritance and joint-adoption rights not currently recognized by the Buenos Aires law [Mr. Ciglutti and his partner, Mr. Marcelo Suntheim, became the first couple in South America to register as same-sex partners in July 18th of 2003].

As for Julia and Lucas, who would not fall in love with them? The last we saw of them, Lucas was beaming at the assembled reporters at the press conference and telling them, in English, “Hey guys! I love You!” (click here or here and go to video link).