Argentina - gay marriage

Two men wed in Argentina in first gay marriage

Article published on the 2009-12-29 Latest update 2009-12-29 17:46 TU

Jose Maria Di Bello (L) and his partner Alex Freyre kiss as they get married at a government's registry office in Ushuaia
(Credit: Reuters)

Two men from Argentina married each other in a civil ceremony in Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Argentina on Tuesday, in the first homosexual marriage in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. Alex Freyre,39, and Jose Maria Di Bello, 41, were wed in Ushuaia, the provincial capital, after they obtained a court order allowing te ceremony.

"It is a dream come true for us. We are completely moved, and so happy for what this means for all gays and lesbians in Argentina," Freyre told Argentina television after the ceremony.

Argentine law does not recognize gay marraige, but a court ruled in their favour on 18 November before it was challenged in a Supreme Court appeal. The appeal is pending.

Tierra del Fuego Governor Fabiana Rios authorized the wedding after a civil registrar had refused to officiate earlier this month.

The couple was originally supposed to tie the knot on 1 December, but a second judge had put the ceremony on hold.

Argentina was the first country in Latin America to allow gay civil unions in 2002. In Mexico City, lawmakers approved gay marriages last week, with the law to come into effect in February.