Videocrux - Argentina hosts first gay marriage in Latin America

#Videocrux - Argentina hosts first gay marriage in Latin America Argentina hosts first gay marriage in Latin America
Two men from Argentina have become the first homosexuals to legally marry in heavily Roman Catholic Latin America, after the governor of southernmost Tierra del Fuego province let them wed.
Latin America gets it's first legal gay couple
Alejandro and José Maria are getting their fair share of fame – And for a reason: they’re the first homosexuals to marry legally in Latin America. Witness Claudio Morgano, president of the national anti-discrimination institute, called the civil marriage a "historic occasion." The wedding came a week after Mexico City lawmakers voted to allow gay marriages, in another first for Latin America. The change is not yet in effect there.
Court gives special consideration to the couple
The Argentinian pair launched a legal bid in April after they were refused the right to marry at the Buenos Aires town hall. Though the Argentine civil code does not recognize same-sex marriages, a court did approve the wedding, arguing that the code’s dispositions were unconstitutional. A huge step in the heavily Roman Catholic country.
Gay marriage brings hope for others in community
For gay and lesbian activists, Alejandro and José Maria’s wedding is a victory of course – but there’s still a long way to go.
More countries to make gay marriage lawful
No Latin American country recognizes gay marriages but Mexico City's legislature approved them last week -- to be held starting in February -- in a controversial first for the traditionally conservative region. A group of Roman Catholic lawyers said Monday in Mexico City that they would carry out "peaceful resistance" in the courts to gay weddings. The Argentine capital became Latin America's first city to approve civil unions in 2002. Buenos Aires grants gay couples some, but not all rights enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. Small neighboring Uruguay -- sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil -- has recently spearheaded liberal changes in Latin America with the approval of a sex change law, adoptions by gay couples as well as civil unions for gays. Colombia also allows civil unions for gays, while an attempt to specifically ban gay marriages recently failed in El Salvador.

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