Attempts to pass constitutional ban The
Constitution of El Salvador does not explicitly ban the recognition of
same-sex marriages. Article 32 reads: "The legal foundation of the family is marriage and rests on the juridical equality of the spouses." However, article 11 of the Family Code of El Salvador states that
marriage is the "union of a man and a woman". In 2006, a
constitutional amendment to ban the legal recognition of same-sex unions was proposed by opponents of same-sex marriage. The measure was backed by the conservative
Christian Democratic Party, President
Antonio Saca and several other parties, including the
Democratic Change, the
Front for Democratic Revolution and the
National Conciliation Party. It was opposed, and thus defeated, by the
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). It failed to win enough votes to be formally ratified due opposition from several FMLN legislators. While the FMLN has consistently opposed attempts to amend the Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, citing their belief that such laws are discriminatory, the party has stated that it has no intention to legalize same-sex marriage. On 30 April 2009, the
Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved a last-minute constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage by defining marriage as being only between "a man and a woman" and barring
same-sex couples from adopting children. Civil rights groups vowed to oppose the measure, which still needed to be voted on by other government branches before becoming law. The amendment eventually failed the same month. On 25 April 2012, another attempt to enact a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples was introduced to the Legislative Assembly. The measure eventually failed on 8 February 2014, after receiving only 19 votes in favor of ratification. On 17 April 2015, another proposal was approved by the Assembly at
first reading, with 47 votes in favor. However, to be successfully included in the Constitution, the bill had to be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the Assembly, or 56 of its 84 members. In November 2016, following the filing of a lawsuit to legalize same-sex marriage, some conservative MPs renewed their efforts to pass the ban. In January 2018, the Constitutional Court declared the proposed amendment unlawful because of "procedural missteps".
2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights advisory opinion On 9 January 2018, the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued an
advisory opinion that parties to the
American Convention on Human Rights should grant same-sex couples "accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage". The advisory opinion states that: El Salvador ratified the American Convention on Human Rights on 23 June 1978 and recognized the court's jurisdiction on 6 June 1995. In the wake of the ruling,
LGBT groups urged the
government to abide by the decision and legalise same-sex marriage. Activists had already filed
lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Family Code prior to the IACHR opinion. In August 2016, a law student submitted such a lawsuit with the
Supreme Court of El Salvador. Calling the law discriminatory and explaining the lack of gendered terms used in Article 34 of the Constitution's summary of marriage, the lawsuit sought to allow same-sex couples to marry. On 20 December 2016, the Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit on a
legal technicality. A second lawsuit was filed on 11 November 2016, but was also dismissed by the Supreme Court on procedural grounds on 17 January 2019. On 9 August 2019, another case was admitted to the Constitutional Court. Originally filed in 2016 by activist Gabriel Gasteazoro, the case alleges that the provisions outlawing same-sex marriages in the Family Code are unconstitutional. A ruling was expected in the first three months of 2020, but was not issued.
Legislative action In August 2021, the government of President
Nayib Bukele proposed constitutional changes to permit same-sex couples to marry, prohibit discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation and legalize
abortion when the life of the mother is in danger. As constitutional reforms in El Salvador must be approved by two successive congresses to take effect, the earliest the law could be enacted would have been 2027. In December 2021, Bukele backtracked and ruled out possible constitutional reforms to legalize same-sex marriage. ==Native Salvadorans==