Israeli president Shimon Peres endorses same-sex marriage

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday endorsed same-sex marriage, saying “we must allow everyone to live as is natural to them.”

Peres’ remarks, reported in an interview with Ynet News, comes at a time when two bills aimed at legalizing same-sex unions make their way through Knesset (the Israeli legislature).

Peres said that “even a person who is a homosexual is a human being, and he has rights. We have no power to take away (their) rights.”

“We cannot take away someone’s rights because they are different. We cannot take away their right to breathe, right to eat or right to start a family. We must allow everyone to live as is natural to them,” he said.

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Peres’ comments came in response to a new bill being promoted by the Justice Ministry called “Living together,” which attempts to regulate some form of a civil partnership between same-sex couples.

An additional bill aims to secure equal marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Peres, 90, made the statements in Guadalajara during a state visit to Mexico.