by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
A judge legalized same-sex marriage in Buenos Aires on Nov. 13. Mayor Mauricio Macri quickly said he would not appeal the ruling, and a gay couple was given a marriage license on Nov. 16. They will marry on Dec. 1.
In the case filed by gay couple Alex Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello, Judge Gabriela Seijas ruled that it is unconstitutional not to treat everyone equally under the law.
Other local same-sex couples now can use the ruling to demand their own marriage licenses.
Freyre is head of the Buenos Aires AIDS Foundation and Di Bello works for the Red Cross.
Buenos Aires, some other Argentine cities and the province of Rio Negro already have civil-union laws for same-sex couples. Elsewhere in Latin America, similar laws are in force in Uruguay, Mexico City, the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Mexican state of Coahuila, which borders Texas.
The Buenos Aires archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church criticized Seijas' ruling, saying banning gays from marrying is not "discrimination."
In a statement, the archdiocese said society is in "moral crisis" and that matrimony is about legal recognition of women's children.
