Cake at Gay Wedding. (Antonio Guerra/Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 2.0) The issue of same-sex marriage has been discussed among the Peruvian public for some time, but only recently has it become a part of the political platforms of presidential candidates [es]. The reason for this change comes from statements made by a representative of the Catholic Church in Peru, firmly rejecting the notion of marriage between people of the same sex [es], which generated a media frenzy that, in turn, has provoked all types of reactions among activists, bloggers, newspaper columnists, common citizens and, as mentioned previously, among the presidential candidates in the election this year. The candidates are using the situation to define their positions on the issue. Former president Alejandro Toledo (of the party Perú Posible), who leads the recent polls for President [es], confirms that his suggested political program is examining civil unions between homosexuals and working “toward an inclusive society. This is not a repressive State.” Manuel Rodríguez Cuadros, candidate of the party Fuerza Social [es], has declared himself in favor of reforming Peru's laws in order to have marriages between couples of the same sex [es]. Meanwhile, other candidates are considering less radical legal measures. Luis Castañeda (of Solidaridad Nacional) has proposed giving inheritance benefits, and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (of Alianza por el Gran Cambio [es]) suggests establishing civil unions [es], as does Keiko Fujimori (of Fuerza 2011). Political analysts in the media share the opinion that this issue doesn't seem to be an attempt to win voters’ ballots, although in a democracy it is always good for the candidates’ images to be seen defending the rights of minorities. Meanwhile, opinions in the local blogosphere (and on Twitter) appeared immediately. El Davo indicates on his blog DaV [es] that, El debate entre los candidatos al sillón presidencial está girando en torno a tres puntos: Consumo de drogas, aborto y unión civil entre personas del mismo sexo.” Peruanista [es] alerts us on his blog [es] that, despite the subject having been politicized by the election: es importante que se discuta la igualdad de derechos civiles de los ciudadanos peruanos que son gays, lesbianas, bisexuales y transgénero (LGBT), a nivel público y de forma respetuosa. Diego Avendaño, in Desde la Clandestinidad [es], points out a real problem challenging same-sex couples in Peru: El caso es que muchas veces las parejas homosexuales no son reconocidas ante el Estado cuando deben reclamar bienes heredados o para tomar decisiones sobre la salud de la pareja, como sí es posible con las parejas (heterosexuales) casadas… Tonnio from Gay Como Tu [es] makes a review of differences and similarities among the legal measures of civil marriage and free civil union (this last being suggested by several candidates), and links them to current laws related to the issue under debate, indicating that: debemos recordar que de lo que se trata aquí es de obtener los mismos beneficios conyugales como el hecho de no querer (sic) desamparados ante la ley después de tantos años de convivencia o en caso de enfermedad, viudez, herencia, hijos y demás derechos que encierra la figura marital. The collective Respeto X Respeto [es] suggests the de-regulation of marriage as is set out right now in the Peruvian Civil Code: El matrimonio no es otra cosa que un contrato entre dos partes… en la que las partes deben decidir por ellas mismas qué reglas cautelan mejor sus intereses… Así, se dejaría de exigir que se trate de la unión de “hombre y mujer”, pudiendo hacerse referencia a la unión de dos personas. Alvaro Felipe, notices the opportunistic, politicized use of the issue, and on his personal blog [es] calls for maintaining the level of debate: si tú te arañas hablando de tolerancia con los homosexuales, o eres un candidato improvisado más que usa ese tema en campaña, recuerda que la tolerancia que pregonas deberías aplicarla con quienes no están de acuerdo contigo. Sino eres un hipócrita más que está seguro que todos le creen. Peru: Drag Queens dressing in costume of viceroyalty in the Gay Pride Day parade. (Photo: MANNOVER/Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licenase CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) The debate has extended to Twitter where it has been rougher and more caustic: @Pornosgay declares: campaña electoral hacia la presidencia de Perú ha encontrado en la legalización del matrimonio homosexual un gran tema de debate Alejandro Toledo (@atoledomanrique), candidate for Perú Posible and predecessor of the current president Alan García, clarifies: No planteamos matrimonio gay. Proponemos la Unión Civil como un mecanismo legal de protección de derechos.