Colombia Constitutional Court Rules That Gay Couples Can Adopt Children

In a ruling that supporters say “could help streamline the adoption of some 10,000 children in Colombia under the protection of welfare agencies,” the Colombia’s constitutional court has ruled that gay couples can adopt children.

The AP reports:

In the 6-2 ruling, the court said adoption agencies can’t discriminate against gay, lesbian and transsexual couples during an adoption process.

Colombia’s Roman Catholic Church immediately denounced the decision as violating the rights of children and going against the wishes of the majority of Colombians who polls say overwhelmingly reject giving gays the same rights to marriage and adoption as heterosexual couples.

The BBC adds:

It said that excluding gay couples as possible adoptive parents “limits children’s right to a family”.

“A person’s sexual orientation or gender are not in and of themselves indicative of a lack of moral, physical or mental suitability to adopt,” said the chief justice of the Constitutional Court, Maria Victoria Calle Correa.

Same-sex couples in Colombia are allowed to enter into legal unions but in 2013 Congress rejected a proposal to fully legalise gay marriage.