MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Judge annuls first gay union, but Congress set to vote same-sex marriage bill

Alex Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria De Bello, 41 married last December in Ushuaia

A judge in Argentina has annulled the first gay marriage in Latin America, state media said Thursday, but the two men in the groundbreaking union said they would appeal the decision.

However on the same day the Argentine Congress agreed to hold a vote on a same-sex marriage bill which has the support from all parties and it was announced a fourth gay couple had legally married.

Judge Marcos Mellien, in the southern city of Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego where the wedding took place last December, ruled the marriage “non-existent,” the Telam news agency said quoting a judicial source.

The judge cited an article in Argentina's civil code which forbids marriage between two people of the same sex, according to the agency.

“We are really surprised with the decision and the way the judge acted. We must read in detail the ruling and analyze the possibility of some appeal”, said Eleonora de Maio, Tierra del Fuego province Legal and Technical Secretary.

One of the spouses in the contested union, Alex Freyre, described the decision as “a failure of a judge who has no value, because we will appeal. We are married and are confident that the Supreme Court will prove us right”.

Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria De Bello, 41, last December obtained permission to marry from the Tierra del Fuego government in Ushuaia -- the world's southernmost city -- after a Buenos Aires judge annulled another judge's decision to allow the marriage in the Argentine capital.

The couple's lawyer, Carolina von Opiela, said she was ”absolutely convinced that (Freyre and Di Bello) are married,” confirming the pair will appeal the ruling, taking it to an international court or forum if necessary.

On Thursday, a committee of the Argentine Lower Chamber of Deputies recommended a same-sex marriage bill be put forward for consideration by the full chamber in coming weeks. The initiative received the support from the whole political spectrum.

And on the same day two activists from Argentina’s Federation of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans, Falgbt, Carlos Alvarez and Martin Carnevaro became the fourth same sex couple to legally marry following a favourable ruling from Judge Guillermo Schleiber which was finally not appealed by the Federal prosecutor.

Two other gay marriages have been carried out in recent months in Argentina following court appeals. Parts of Argentina allow same-sex civil unions, which provide some of the rights granted to married couples, but there is no gay marriage law on the books.

Until now, no Latin American country has formally recognized gay marriages, although Mexico City's legislature has approved them. In Argentina, local authorities had approved the legal proceedings in the three cases ahead of possible legislative action.