The streets of Ecuador exploded in celebrations on Wednesday after the South American country’s highest court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage, BBC News reported.
Five of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the lawsuit filed by two same-sex couples who wanted to get married.
Ecuador now joins several other South American countries that have legalized gay marriage.
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay all allow same-sex couples to marry. This makes Ecuador the 27th country overall to legalize gay marriage, following Taiwan which recently became the first territory in Asia to allow for the same right.
This landmark ruling comes after a decision by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights to see countries give same-sex couples the same marriage rights.
The ruling, which passed in January 2018 , applied to countries which signed the American Convention on Human Rights, some of which already recognize same-sex marriage while others recognize same-sex civil unions. However, some do not recognize either and are now expected to change their laws in accordance to the ruling.
One lawsuit was filed last year by same-sex couple Efraín Soria and Javier Benalcázar.
The pair have been together for 12 years, and Soira spoke to reporters in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, while the court voted in a closed-door hearing.
“I want to say hello to Javier, who is in Guayaquil: ‘Honey, I love you’,” he said.
He also urged other members of the LGBTQ+ community to come out of hiding and “enjoy the happiness that comes from being equal, like anyone else.”
This new ruling is huge for Ecuador, which is a largely Catholic nation
Christian Paula of the Patka Foundation acted as the attorney for about 10 same-sex couples in the country seeking the right to marry.
“[This ruling] means that Ecuador is more egalitarian,” Christian said. “It recognizes that human rights must be for all people without discrimination.”
Ecuador’s constitution defines marriage as being the union between a man and a woman.
The four judges who voted against the ruling argued that the National Assembly would have to debate the issue before any changes to the constitution were made. Those who approved the ruling said they were seeking to counter discrimination in the country, where same-sex civil unions have been legal since 2015.
In downtown Quito, two women fighting since 2013 for the right to be married staged an impromptu symbolic wedding.
According to the Daily Mail , Pamela Troya and her partner Gabriela Correa held the ceremony while a delighted crowd watched on.
When Troya was asked if she would take Correa as her wife, she responded, “Today, I say yes. A big yes. A giant yes. I want to be your wife.”
This ruling has been recognized as a huge win for LGBTQ campaigners.
“The victories we’ve witnessed in the last couple of weeks will improve the lives of millions of LGBT people around the world,” Mathias Wasik, director of programs at the international LGBT rights group All Out, told ABC News .
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“We’re witnessing an important moment in history as these victories will send out positive shock waves across the world and inspire more activists to continue their fight for LGBT rights.”
Just this week, the Vatican released an official document rejecting specific LGBTQ+ terms.
The document, which was published right in the middle of Pride Month , insists that people cannot choose or change their genders, and rejects such terms as “intersex” and “transgender” in an effort to clarify sex education in Catholic schools around the world.
“Whenver there’s progress, there’s always steps backwards,” Neela Ghoshal, senior researcher in the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch, said.
However, despite setbacks, there is still cause for huge celebration in Ecuador this week.
As citizens celebrate the landmark ruling, they’re reflecting on what this new law means for their country.
Speaking about the decision, Troya said, “Finally, today is an historic day for Ecuador because it is a little more fair and egalitarian.”
Benalcáza, who can now marry his partner Soira, said he felt “emotional after so much struggle.”
