- Title: ARGENTINA: Gay wedding canceled by last-minute decision
- Date: 2nd December 2009
- Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WITH A GIFT ADORNED WITH A RED RIBBON FOR COUPLE WOMAN WITH RAINBOW FLAG INSIDE CITY REGISTRY GAY RIGHTS SUPPORTERS INSIDE CITY REGISTRY WOMAN FROM HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP THE GRANDMOTHERS OF THE PLAZA DE MAYO WITH THE CROWD IN THE CIVIL REGISTRY VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT THE CIVIL REGISTRY COUPLE PLANNING TO WED, ALEX FREYRE AND JOSE MARIA DI BELLO WEARING RE
- Embargoed: 17th December 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Argentina
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Legal System,General
- Reuters ID: LVA72KWA78TFJG76WYVKLMJKSCUV
- Story Text: A court order blocks Latin America's first same sex marriage leaving the couple at the altar and pledging to continue the fight.
Two Argentine men went to a Buenos Aires city registry to marry each other in Latin America's first gay marriage on Tuesday (December 1) but were forced to cancel their wedding plans after a judge overruled the court decision that originally granted them permission to wed.
Crowds of gay rights supporters poured from the registry office to witness the wedding of Alex Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello in Argentina's first same sex wedding.
Buenos Aires city judge Gabriela Seijas granted Freyre and Di Bello a marriage license two weeks ago, giving the two men approval to wed in the capital despite a national policy defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
But late on Monday, a federal judge suspended the ceremony, saying that the city judge had no power to make the earlier ruling.
The couple's wedding plans hung in limbo as they and the gathering crowd waited to find out if they would finally be given the go ahead from the city government to tie the knot.
Despite the conflicting decisions, Freyre was confident they would be married and the original ruling would hold firm.
"Same sex marriage must be celebrated today; this is what Dr. Seijas' ruling says. The secretary of the courthouse is here in this civil registry and we know what the order from Dr. Seijas is and that is to be carried out. And it says that if we want to, we can get married. Yes, we want to," said Freyre.
Freyre and Di Bello, who are both HIV positive, wore red ribbon sashes around their necks and had chosen December first for the wedding date to mark World AIDS Day.
The couple's lawyer, Maria Rachid, later told the anxious crowd that the city government had decided to cancel the wedding.
"The government of the city of Buenos Aires decided not to recognize the ruling of Judge Gabriela Seijas. They are taking it so far that they don't even mention the ruling in the decision that suspends the marriage," said Rachid.
The announcement drew shouts and chants for equality and against the city's Mayor Mauricio Macri who had said he would not challenge the original ruling.
The couple recognized the day's events as a set-back but vowed to continue to fight until they are allowed to be legally married.
In 2002, Buenos Aires became the first Latin American city to allow civil unions by same-sex couples.
Civil unions in Buenos Aires and other Argentine cities grant same-sex couples some legal marital rights, but not others, such as the right to adopt.
Elsewhere in Latin America, same-sex civil unions are allowed in Uruguay and Mexico City. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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