Argentinean Judge Nullifies Gay Marriage

A federal judge in Buenos Aires has nullified the marriage of two men and ordered the couple to turn in any marriage licenses or documentation received from the civil registry office within 72 hours or face monetary penalties.

Judge Felix Gustavo de Igarzabal of Buenos Aires reversed an earlier decision allowing Damian Bernath and Jorge Salazar to tie the knot on at the city's civil registry office on March 3. Igarzabal argued that no marriage took place "because of the absence of the institution's structural elements," in this case a man and a woman.

Judge Elena Liberatori, who issued the earlier decision, said the couple should have marriage rights, even though current laws "are not in line with the times."

In November 2009, Alex Freyre and Jose Maria di Bello were granted the right to get married, making theirs the first same-sex union in Argentina.

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