Gay Buenos Aires couple demand fine for mayor who barred marriage
A gay Buenos Aires couple who hoped to become the first to marry in Argentina this week have said the city mayor should be fined for not authorising their wedding.
Jose Maria Di Bello and partner Alex Freyre, who are both HIV-positive, planned to marry Tuesday for World AIDS Day after Judge Gabriela Seijas ruled last month that the ban on gay marriage violated Argentina’s constitution.
But hours before the ceremony, Judge Marta Gomez Alsina ruled that the first judge did not have the authority to give the couple permission to marry.
Seijas then dismissed the second court’s claims, saying the issue fell outside its jurisdiction. She asked city mayor Mauricio Macri to comply with her ruling.
According to the Buenos Aires Herald, the couple have now asked Seijas to fine Macri for failing to comply. A gay rights organisation called for a court probe into Macri for disobeying a court ruling.
The couple must now wait for a Supreme Court decision on their nuptials.
Buenos Aires has offered civil unions since 2002. In Mexico City and Uruguay similar civil ceremonies are offered, but nowhere on the continent has allowed full marriage.
