It will be interesting to see whether the nations of South America ultimately surge ahead of the USA, the falsely alleged land of the free, and grant marriage equality to all their citizens before the same rights are afforded nationwide in the USA. A court ruling in Buenos Aires has held that same sex couples cannot be denied marriage rights and the city has indicated that it will not appeal the ruling. Naturally, leading the forces of reactionary, backward thinking in Argentina is the corrupt and hypocritical Roman Catholic Church. Through out U.S. history, the courts have lead the way in expanding civil rights and it is nothing less than disgusting mob rule when rights are voted away by a religiously prejudice majority as has occurred now both in California and Maine. Equal protection under the law has become a farce in most of the USA and it ought to terrify EVERY minority group. Here are some story highlights:*
BUENOS AIRES – An Argentine judge paved the way for gay marriage Friday when she granted a homosexual couple permission to marry in a first for Latin America, the world's biggest Catholic region. Buenos Aires, known for its active if low-key gay movement, became the region's first city to approve civil unions for gay couples in 2002. It was followed by Villa Carlos Paz in the north and the southern province of Rio Negro.
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Friday's ruling by Judge Gabriela Seijas ordered the civil registry to make official the marriage of Alejandro Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria Di Bello, 41, who had been denied their request because they were both men. It could increase pressure for lawmakers to take up a stalled gay marriage bill in Congress. In the rest of Latin America, Mexico City, the Mexican state of Coahuila and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul also allow civil unions for same-sex couples.
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Uruguay became the first country in the region in late 2007 to legalize civil unions for gays. In January 2009, the Colombian Constitutional Court recognized a series of rights for homosexual couples, including social welfare rights. But no Latin American country authorizes marriage between gays.
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Seijas deemed that "the law must treat everyone with the same respect according to their particular situation" and declared unconstitutional two articles of the civil code, including one stating that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
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BUENOS AIRES – An Argentine judge paved the way for gay marriage Friday when she granted a homosexual couple permission to marry in a first for Latin America, the world's biggest Catholic region. Buenos Aires, known for its active if low-key gay movement, became the region's first city to approve civil unions for gay couples in 2002. It was followed by Villa Carlos Paz in the north and the southern province of Rio Negro.
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Friday's ruling by Judge Gabriela Seijas ordered the civil registry to make official the marriage of Alejandro Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria Di Bello, 41, who had been denied their request because they were both men. It could increase pressure for lawmakers to take up a stalled gay marriage bill in Congress. In the rest of Latin America, Mexico City, the Mexican state of Coahuila and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul also allow civil unions for same-sex couples.
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Uruguay became the first country in the region in late 2007 to legalize civil unions for gays. In January 2009, the Colombian Constitutional Court recognized a series of rights for homosexual couples, including social welfare rights. But no Latin American country authorizes marriage between gays.
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Seijas deemed that "the law must treat everyone with the same respect according to their particular situation" and declared unconstitutional two articles of the civil code, including one stating that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
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[Roman Catholic] Bishop Baldemoro Martini charged that "same-sex unions do not contribute to the public good; they put it especially at risk." The landmark decision could still be struck down if there is an appeal. But Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, a conservative, said the government would make no such move. "The world is heading in this direction," he told reporters.
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