Costa Rica has become the first country in Central America to legalise gay marriage after a lesbian couple tied the knot on Tuesday.
The wedding, which was shown on national TV, took place hours after a new law allowing same-sex marriage came into effect at midnight.
In August 2018, Costa Rica’s supreme court had given lawmakers in the country an 18-month deadline to change the immediate past constitution which prohibited marriage between two people of the same sex.
It was gathered that more than 20 legislators in the country had attempted to further delay the 18-month ruling by the apex court.
Carlos Alvarado, Costa Rica’s president, however, took to his social media page to celebrate the development, adding that it shows rights of gay and lesbian are now acknowledged.
“Costa Rica officially recognizes equal marriage. Today we celebrate freedom, equality and democratic institutions. May empathy and love be the compass that allows us to get ahead and build a country where all people fit,” he wrote on Twitter
With the development, Costa Rica becomes the first country in Central America and the sixth in Latin America to allow same-sex marriage.
Countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay and some parts of Mexico currently allow the practice.
