Thousands of
Argentines waving rainbow flags marched in the annual Gay
Pride Parade Saturday in Buenos Aires, where some said they
still face discrimination in one of the most
gay-friendly cities in Latin America.
The capital
became the first city in the region to pass same-sex civil
union laws in 2002, and this year it played host to soccer's
''gay world cup'' and saw the opening of the first
five-star hotel catering to gays.
But activists
said more needs to be done to correct discrimination
against gay, lesbian, and transgender people.
''It's a society
that...projects an image of equality, but if you really
get on the inside, there's discrimination,'' said Alejandra
Victoria Portatadino of the Homosexual Community of
Argentina, or CHA.
Dancing atop
booming sound trucks and waving from rainbow-flag-draped
cars, the revelers snaked through downtown Buenos Aires past
the capital's Government House and the iconic Obelisk
monument.
CHA leader
Marcelo Suntheim said the organization is lobbying to expand
same-sex unions nationwide and outlaw job discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
''We need
pensions for widows, inheritance rights, and adoption
rights,'' he added.
Since 2002, civil
union laws have passed in parts of Mexico and Brazil.
And this year, Colombia gave same-sex couples the right to
share assets and add partners to health insurance
plans.
Argentina's first
Gay Pride Parade was held in 1992. (Katherine Glover,
AP)
