And so much for that: “A federal judge in Buenos Aires has nullified the “marriage” of two gay men that took place last week in the Argentinian capital, saying “no elements existed” for the union to constitute a marriage. On Monday, Judge Felix Gustavo de Igarzabal of Buenos Aires reversed a decision which allowed two gay men to marry at the city’s civil registry office on March 3. In his ruling the judge said no marriage took place “because of the absence of the institution’s structural elements,” in this case a man and a woman, and thus declared the act to be invalid. He also said any ‘legal effects derived from the act shall be suspended.’ The judge ordered the two men to turn in any marriage licenses or documentation received from the civil registry office within 72 hours or face monetary penalties.” Now Does this count as an annulment or a divorce? [CNA]
kevinvancouver
fuckin sad and pathetic… with the exception of my parents I hate breeders..
ben doverr
Wonder if there’s a gay celebrity or other deep-pockets out there who could shoulder the monetary penalty for these guys, so they could conveniently “lose” the marriage paperwork.
The license et al. should one day go to a gay heritage museum. But for now, that judge can suck it.
Peter
Did the judge quote the law that required the marriage to be between a man AND a woman??? If not, then he has a problem with the issuing office, not the recipients.
Also, it was a civil registry office; not a religious registry office.
benlayvey
How did I see this coming? Perhaps the Argentine authorities thought they are country will be flooded by gays seeking marriage licences. They feel they might become the new gay mecca which will contradict their staunchly held catholic beliefs.
benlayvey
their*
Mike in Asheville, nee "in Brooklyn"
Naturally, this will make it way through Argentina’s legal system; I won’t comment about how their legal system works.
Nonetheless, in November 2009, a local Buenos Aires court ruled that a ban against same-sex marriages was illegal and orders that the first gay couple be issued a marriage license. A federal court later intervened and issued an injunction against the same-sex marriage.
The happy couple in question traveled to Tierra del Fuego and was married there in early December 2009. Good news for them; unresolved legal matters for Buenos Aires though. Because the couple chose (I would have too) to travel to a very friendly jurisdiction to get married, the issue between the conflicting court decisions is unresolved. Apparently, under Argentina’s laws, the federal government does not have a say over municipal and state laws regarding marriage. I am unsure how effective the injunction will be.
Perhaps this second happy couple will also travel south to Tierra del Fuego and be married there — I hope so.
Indeed the starts-and-stops are worse than annoying. Real people with real feelings are being discriminated against by fascists who want to control how the individual lives their lives. But change is coming and the devil will die off.
GayGuyPdx
This has only been reported by one source: Catholic News Agency. This story needs to be researched and vetted.
Kevin, New Jersey
It’s an annulment.
Mike in Asheville
@No. 7 GayGuyPox
I checked the Buenos Aires Herald, an English language paper, about the story and they are reporting similar information as the assholes at Catholic News sans all the “glory to God”s. Apparently, the judge who granted the marriage license did not follow proper protocol in issuing her order, a maneuver designed to prevent an objection to procedures in place for granting a license. Basically, the judge ignored the law, did not rule the law unconstitutional, and attempted to keep everything secret.
The judge in the appeal, though, also ignored proper protocol. Apparently, the couple was not notified of the appeal nor given any opportunity to oppose the appeal. On that basis, there is an appeal of the appeal.
Yes, there is back-and-forth, two-steps forward, one step backwards. Its sad and certainly makes life difficult for the couple. But this is just a legal roadblock and one that makes the personal relationship stronger in the process.
There remains the very important and good news: the issue of same-sex marriage is in Argentina and there are some victories. Until last December, there was no such thing as a same-sex marriage; today, same-sex marriage is moving forward, albeit with same back peddling. Buenos Aires is struggling over this as is happening in many US states and nations world-wide. The very good news is that in the Argentine state of Tierra del Fuego gay couples their first Massachusetts. And the best news is that the notion and acceptance is growing stronger.
Many happy wishes for the couple, hold strong boys.