Gay Argentine Couple Weds

Argentina has joined the small handful of countries that allow gay marriage. Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre, both gay rights activists, were married in a civil ceremony in Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, after a judge in Buenos Aires had rejected their initial attempt. The union makes Di Bello and Freyre Latin America's first same-sex married couple. Argentina's constitution doesn't specifically define marriage as between a man and woman, leaving the issue up to provincial and city officials. In Ushuaia, governor Fabiana Rios approved the marriage on the basis of a ruling by a judge who had declared two provisions of the constitution discriminatory. A bill to legalize gay marriage is currently pending in Argentina's congress.