Costa Rica's Supreme Court has ordered a statutory ban on same-sex marriages be struck down as unconstitutionally discriminatory and has given lawmakers -- including a high proportion of evangelicals who promote heterosexual-only unions -- 18 months to change the laws in that sense. Magistrate Fernando Castillo told reporters that the ban was inconsistent with an opinion issued in January by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that said homosexual couples must have the same rights to marry as heterosexual couples. “We will continue to boost actions that guarantee no person will face discrimination for their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The decision follows a judgment issued in January by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), the top rights body of the Americas based in Costa Rica. The Supreme Court gave lawmakers up to 18 months to legalize gay marriage, which has long been opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups in the Central American nation. Magistrate Fernando Castillo said that if the legislature does not change the law within the time frame, the ban will cease to exist and gay marriage will automatically become legal, according to the Associated Press.
The Supreme Court of Costa Rica rules that a ban on same-sex marriage is illegal, and states that legislators must change the law accordingly within eighteen months.