Argentine Couple Filing Appeal With Mayors Help

A gay couple who would have been the first to marry in Argentina before a judge ruled against them at the last minute vowed on Tuesday to appeal their case.

Alex Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello, along with Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri, said they would appeal the judge's decision.

"The wedding's been suspended, but we're appealing to the supreme court today so we can figure out which court ruling to follow," said Ivan Pavlovsky, a spokesman for the mayor, according to Reuters.

Marci is a possible contender for Argentina's presidency in 2011. He has said that offering marriage to Buenos Aires' gay couples is the right thing to do.

The couple were to get married Tuesday, specifically commemorating World AIDS Day. Their lawyer, Maria Rachid, called the judge's blocking of their wedding "illegitimate."

"We're going to ask for the annulment of the judge's decision to suspend the wedding and going to sue her for abuse of power and for ruling against the law," Rachid told Reuters.

Argentina became the first country in Latin America to offer civil unions in 2002.