As Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd threatened to veto a new law allowing gay couples to hold civil unions in the Australian Capital Territory, a gay male couple celebrated the first such legal ceremony in the country on Wednesday.

Warren McGaw and Chris Rumble, who have been together for almost 20 years, joyfully formalized their civil partnership in Canberra at the Old Parliament House, according to ABC News. 

However, the federal government led by Rudd, which has jurisdiction over the capital territory, says it may block the new civil union law.

According to ABC News, any legal ceremonies that take place while the law is in effect would stand, regardless of whether the veto succeeds.