Chile Congress approves same-sex marriage, adoptions

By EVA VERGARA
Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The lower house of Chile’s Congress has approved a measure to legalize marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, moving it close to final adoption. It had already passed the Senate and now awaits only final modifications related to the rights of same-sex couples. President Sebastián Piñera has indicated he will publish it into law. Chile had accepted same-sex civil unions in 2015, but that measure did not include a provision for adoption. The marriage proposal had been stalled in the Senate for about four years until the conservative president surprised many by announcing he would push for the measure.