Marriage Equality In Argentina

Argentina joins Canada, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Portugal, Iceland and the Netherlands in granting full marriage equality rights to same-sex couples. It is the first Latin American country to do so. In a 33-27 vote with 3 abstentions, the Argentinian Congress passed their gay marriage bill. The Catholic Church organized thousands of opponents to protest at the government buildings before the vote. The law also allows gay adoptions, which was argued and used by the Catholic Church as their big issue against it. The bill now goes to President Cristina Fernandez's desk, who is expected to gladly sign it.

New Zealand, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, and the United Kingdom all have some form of civil unions laws for same-sex couples but doesn't have the full marriage rights afforded to straight couples.