Could You Be Honeymooning in Ecuador Soon?

Ecuador moved a step closer to recognizing same-sex couples this week when National Assembly lawmakers approved a civil unions bill.

The country’s constitution bans same-sex marriages since 2009, but President Rafael Correa said in 2014 that same-sex couples would be allowed to register their relationships, and now the National Assembly is coming along too.

There are no adoption provisions on the table yet, but

Previously those seeking to register de facto relationships had to be able to prove they had been in a relationship for at least two years but under the new amendment there is no such requirement. Ecuadorian LGBT rights group Matrimonio Civil Igualitario (Civil Marriage Equality) said the bill was a move in the right direction.

“We hope that society opens their hearts and minds, and that they realize that for us to have access to marriage or adoption or have total recognition of families with same-sex parents, will not generate chaos or the apocalypse,” said spokeswoman Pamela Troya.

Here’s hoping for continued positive change, especially when Ecuador’s beaches are calling.