Group protests recognition of gay marriage

A GROUP of about a dozen people have mounted a vigil on the steps of the Supreme Court to protest a petition calling for recognition of the marriage of a gay couple who have been in a relationship for 17 years.

The protest  follows the filing by the law firm Morgan and Morgan   a warning of unconstitutionality against the article of the family code that limited marriage to an act “between a man and a woman.”

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Carlos Ernesto González, a partner in the law firm, was filed on behalf of Enrique Jelenszky and his partner, John Winstanley.

Embassy ceremony
Jelenszky, a Panamanian lawyer, and Winstanley, a British executive, held a civil union ceremony in May 2008 at the United Kingdom Embassy in Panama.

Eight years later, and in accordance with the law of couples from the United Kingdom, the union became a marriage.

This year, Jelenszky requested the marriage be recorded in Panama, using the same process other couples use to have their marriages from other countries recorded in Panama.

However, the Civil Records Office in September refused to register their marriage.

Jelenszky then decided to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.