Argentian Gay Couple Defy Law To Become First To Have Same Sex Marriage In Latin America

Argentian couple Jose Maria Di Bello and Alejandro Freyre have become the first gay couple to marry in Latin America after the Tierra del Fuego provincial governor issued a special decree to allow them to marry in Ushuaia, a city 2000km from Buenos Aires.

Whilst the couple are obviously delighted to hae got married, the decision to do so in Ushuaia was however more to do with necessity than choice after the HIV-positive couple, who had wanted to get married in Buenos Aires on World AIDS Day on December 1st, found their plans hampered by conflicting rulings both outlawing and approving the marriage, which lead to no official wanting to carry out the ceremony.

Speaking after the ceremony in the city in the far south of Argentina, Jose Maria Di Bello, said he hoped their marriage would act to encourage other countries to allow gay marriages to take place saying “I want this union to symbolise that this point, the further south in the world is the end of the world, but also the beginning of everything … And from Ushuaia, the city further south in the world and from Argentina we are shedding light, to the whole of Latin America and the Carribbean.”

Reaction to the marriage in Argentina has seen some strong criticism from the Catholic Church who have expressed their disapproval, with the Bishop Juan Carlos, of the southern Argentine city of Rio Gallegos, calling the marriage “an attack against the survival of the human species