Same-sex couples have been able to register their relationship since 2015, but have not been able to enjoy equal rights.
Chile president Sebastián Piñera signed an equal marriage law on Thursday, news agency Reuters reports.
The law “puts all romantic relationships between two people on the same line,” Piñera said at the signing ceremony.
“All couples want to live, love, get married and start a family with the respect they deserve and the protection they need.”
Law shall enter into force 90 days after its publication in the Official Gazette of the country.
The two chambers of the country’s parliament passed the law on Tuesday in a vote in which a majority of MPs backed it. The campaign to change the law was launched as early as 2017, when the then president Michelle Bachelet gave it its support.
Chileans will elect a new president on December 19, when the candidates will be progressive Gabriel Boric and conservative José Antonio Kast.
The Catholic Kast has previously said that even if he does not approve of an equal marriage, he would still have signed the law if the country’s parliament had approved it during his potential term.
Same-sex couples have been able to register their partnership since 2015. However, they have not had equal status before the law, as they have not been able to adopt children, among other things.
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