LGBT Rights in Puerto Rico - Civil Rights

Civil Rights

Puerto Rico has not had any national legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. This may change in the near future (at least for sexual orientation), as a gay rights bill (House Bill #1725) is now going through Puerto Rico's legislative process. First introduced on 21 May 2009 in the island's House of Representatives, it was finally approved by an overwhelming margin (by a 43 to 6 vote) on 11 November 2009. House Bill #1725 amends existing Puerto Rican civil rights laws to forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the areas of employment, public transportation and public facilities, business transactions,and housing. The bill in its present form does not have provisions to protect transgender individuals.

The bill was referred to Puerto Rico's Senate, and discussions in that Chamber started 18 December 2009. The Senate Committees for Labor & Human Resources, and for Civil Matters, are both reviewing the measure. Governor Luis Fortuño (a member of the island's New Progressive Party and affiliated with the mainland Republican Party) has indicated that the law needs to state exemptions for organizations that object to homosexuality on the grounds of beliefs.

The President of Puerto Rico's Senate, Thomas Rivera Schatz, has been a vocal opponent of legislation protecting LGBT rights. In early April 2010, he stated on the Senate floor that Project 1725 would not be approved by the Senate. However, there have been no Senate hearings yet on the measure, and no public hearings have yet been scheduled to discuss the bill.

Puerto Rico is also covered by U.S. federal law, most notably the Matthew Shepard Act, pertaining to hate crimes, which was recently amended to include sexual orientation and transgender persons as protected categories.

In addition to these developments, there are portions of the proposed revised Civil Code for Puerto Rico currently being reviewed by both Houses of the Legislature that impact LGBT residents. There is a proposal to insert into the Civil Code a provision to allow post-operative transsexuals to change the gender noted on their birth certificates. On the other hand, there is concern that some proposed clauses that invalidate so-called common law marriages may actually result in the reduction of rights (for example hospital visitations) for same-sex couples. It is significant that Puerto Rico's Roman Catholic Archbishop has proposed a concept called "shared residency" (residencia compartida) that would allow same sex couples hospital visitation rights and inheritance and insurance rights as well. However, the discussions surrounding these proposals have included demands by some conservatives that the Constitution be amended to forbid same sex marriages or civil unions.