First Couple Weds Under New Argentine Gay Marriage Law

Argentine President Cristina Fernández

In Argentina, Miguel Angel Calefato, 65, and Jose Luis Navarro, 54, became the first couple to marry yesterday under the recently-passed gay marriage law, the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America. The couple had been together for 27 years. A little over an hour later, another couple had married, and many more are set to take place throughout the weekend. The law, which faced blistering opposition from the Roman Catholic church, was recently signed into law by president Cristina Fernández, who said at the ceremony, “Today we are a society that is a little more egalitarian than last week.”

While gay marriage is now legal across the sprawling South American nation, Mr. Calefato and Mr. Navarro are actually not the first gay couple to marry. Last December, two men were married in Tierra del Fuego province. Despite the illegality of the act, a special decree was issued by the governor of the province that allowed them to marry.

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