First Same Sex Marriage
.
First same-sex weddings held in Mexico
Mexico City - Five same-sex couples got married Thursday in Mexico City in the first such weddings ever held in the country.
Civil Registry director Hegel Cortes described the ceremony at the Old Mayoral Palace in the city's historic centre as an 'historic event.'
Although the first same-sex wedding in Latin America was held in Argentina in December, Mexico City is the only city in the region in which marriage between people of the same gender is recognized by the Civil Code. The relevant reforms were approved in December and went into force on March 4.
Two gay couples and three lesbian couples got married Thursday, in the presence of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard. Demonstrators for and against same-sex marriage gathered before the building.
The five couples are now entitled to the same rights and obligations of heterosexual married couples, including the right to adopt children. Adoption was one of the most controversial issues surrounding the debate on same-sex marriage in Mexico City.
In January, the Attorney General's Office filed a formal complaint before the country's Supreme Court of Justice, arguing that these wedding are unconstitutional. Mexico's highest tribunal has yet to rule on the issue, but the weddings that take place until then will in any case be valid.
The issue is likely to prompt further legal battles over spousal benefits and other matters.
Until Thursday, 41 same-sex couples had initiated proceedings to get married before Mexico City courts. Of these, 22 couples are male and 19 are female, according to the city government.
= = = = = = =
.
.
WASHINGTON: On the first day that same-sex marriages were celebrated in the US capital. In addition to the federal capital district of Washington DC, gays can be legally wed in the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
With police cars lining the streets outside the Human Rights Campaign building and a helicopter hovering overhead, Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend became the first same-sex couple to be wed in Washington, just days after the US capital began issuing marriage licences to gay couples.
Young, in a chiffon and lace peach-colored dress, exchanged vows with Townsend, wearing a white suit, and were pronounced “partners for life” by the Reverend David North.
“You are my friend, my partner, my love. I love you today, I love you tomorrow, I love you forever,” Young told her partner of 12 years, bringing tears to Townsend's eyes.
The historic, first same-sex wedding was followed minutes later by another, when Reggie Stanley and Rocky Galloway, both 50, were married as their two 15-month-old daughters Malena and Zoe looked on.
“We are here today to unite two souls who are already attuned to each other,” the Reverend Sylvia Sumter said, calling on “the loving, loving father-mother God” to bless their union.
The path was opened for same-sex couples to wed in the US capital last week when the US Supreme Court refused a petition to hold a referendum on gay marriage, which would have delayed the day the law on same-sex unions took effect in Washington.
Hours after the Supreme Court decision, couples flocked to a courthouse in Washington to apply for marriage licences and then had to wait at least three business days -- until Tuesday -- before they could get married.
“Love is a mystery, relationship is a gift. Marriage is a gift that was long denied to everyone in DC, but today we open that gift,” said the Reverend Dwayne Johnson as he married the third couple on Tuesday, the Reverend Elder Darlene Garner, 61, and the Reverend Lorilyn Candy Holmes, 53. – AFP
= = = = = = = =
First same-sex weddings held in Mexico
Mexico City - Five same-sex couples got married Thursday in Mexico City in the first such weddings ever held in the country.
Civil Registry director Hegel Cortes described the ceremony at the Old Mayoral Palace in the city's historic centre as an 'historic event.'
Although the first same-sex wedding in Latin America was held in Argentina in December, Mexico City is the only city in the region in which marriage between people of the same gender is recognized by the Civil Code. The relevant reforms were approved in December and went into force on March 4.
Two gay couples and three lesbian couples got married Thursday, in the presence of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard. Demonstrators for and against same-sex marriage gathered before the building.
The five couples are now entitled to the same rights and obligations of heterosexual married couples, including the right to adopt children. Adoption was one of the most controversial issues surrounding the debate on same-sex marriage in Mexico City.
In January, the Attorney General's Office filed a formal complaint before the country's Supreme Court of Justice, arguing that these wedding are unconstitutional. Mexico's highest tribunal has yet to rule on the issue, but the weddings that take place until then will in any case be valid.
The issue is likely to prompt further legal battles over spousal benefits and other matters.
Until Thursday, 41 same-sex couples had initiated proceedings to get married before Mexico City courts. Of these, 22 couples are male and 19 are female, according to the city government.
= = = = = = =
.
.
With police cars lining the streets outside the Human Rights Campaign building and a helicopter hovering overhead, Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend became the first same-sex couple to be wed in Washington, just days after the US capital began issuing marriage licences to gay couples.
Young, in a chiffon and lace peach-colored dress, exchanged vows with Townsend, wearing a white suit, and were pronounced “partners for life” by the Reverend David North.
“You are my friend, my partner, my love. I love you today, I love you tomorrow, I love you forever,” Young told her partner of 12 years, bringing tears to Townsend's eyes.
The historic, first same-sex wedding was followed minutes later by another, when Reggie Stanley and Rocky Galloway, both 50, were married as their two 15-month-old daughters Malena and Zoe looked on.
“We are here today to unite two souls who are already attuned to each other,” the Reverend Sylvia Sumter said, calling on “the loving, loving father-mother God” to bless their union.
The path was opened for same-sex couples to wed in the US capital last week when the US Supreme Court refused a petition to hold a referendum on gay marriage, which would have delayed the day the law on same-sex unions took effect in Washington.
Hours after the Supreme Court decision, couples flocked to a courthouse in Washington to apply for marriage licences and then had to wait at least three business days -- until Tuesday -- before they could get married.
“Love is a mystery, relationship is a gift. Marriage is a gift that was long denied to everyone in DC, but today we open that gift,” said the Reverend Dwayne Johnson as he married the third couple on Tuesday, the Reverend Elder Darlene Garner, 61, and the Reverend Lorilyn Candy Holmes, 53. – AFP
= = = = = = = =
