Over three years ago, the Chilean government sent a bill to Congress to uphold same-sex marriage. The bill has not moved forward. Instead, Chile has been taking steps backward.

Take the June decision by the Constitutional Court, denying a request by a lesbian couple who were married in Spain and have a child, to have their marriage recognized in Chile. The court, in a 5-4 ruling, used language denigrating the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The ruling reinforces the need for Congress to pass a bill establishing equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Justice Cristián Letelier Aguilar’s majority decision—which four other justices largely concurred with—argued that Chilean law, in its denial of marriage rights to LGBT people, does not discriminate because “a homosexual person can contract marriage in Chile if they do it with a person of the opposite sex.” The Justice seems to believe that gays and lesbians only deserve equal treatment if they stop being who they are.

Justice Letelier Aguilar also compared same-sex marriage with what he called “sui generis marriages,” including those involving “marriage of children in African countries.” His offensive analogy ignores that, unlike adult marriages, child marriages across the world are devoid of consent and violate basic human rights. Read more via HRW