"Today is a day of tremendous reparation. Today we do not shout for liberation but instead we shout for equality, which is just as important as freedom. I do not want to use a word that bothers me greatly: Tolerance. No. I do not believe in 'tolerance'. To tolerate is to say I'll allow you to be because I have no other choice. I want to talk about equality and I want to talk about all of you who will now have the same rights I have enjoyed from the moment I was born and the rights that so many millions of Argentinians have enjoyed from the moment they were born. This is the society we want."
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Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, at an event marking the new right of transgender citizens to officially change their gender on official documents without proving they'd undergone surgery.
Blabbeando author Andres Duque says the new law, which was passed unanimously by the legislature, makes Argentina the world's most progressive nation for transgender rights. Argentina legalized same-sex marriage in 2010 and it's now quite arguable that they are the world's most progressive nation for LGBT rights overall. Hit the link for video of the above-cited ceremony. It's a beautiful thing even if you don't speak a word of Spanish. (reposted from joemygod)