A gay couple kisses outside Argentina's congress during a rally to support a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Buenos Aires, Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Argentina has become the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage.
The move grants homosexual couples all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage gives heterosexual couples.
President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter and the new law is expected to bring a wave of marriages.
The approval came despite a concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups, which drew 60,000 people to march on Congress and urged parents in churches and schools to work against passage.
Nine homosexual couples have already married in Argentina after persuading judges that Argentina's constitutional mandate of equality supports their marriage rights, but some of these marriages were later declared invalid.
The debate stretched on for nearly 16 hours.
"Marriage between a man and a woman has existed for centuries, and is essential for the perpetuation of the species," insisted Senator Juan Perez Alsina, who is usually a loyal supporter of the president but gave a passionate speech against legalizing same-sex marriage.
However, Senator Norma Morandini, another member of the president's party, compared the discrimination closeted gays face to the oppression imposed by Argentina's dictators decades ago. "What defines us is our humanity, and what runs against humanity is intolerance."
Same-sex civil unions have been legalized in Uruguay, Buenos Aires and some states in Mexico and Brazil. But Argentina now becomes the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. Homosexual couples who marry will now get many more rights than civil unions, including adopting children and inheriting wealth.
阿根廷于日前（通过一项承认同性婚姻的 法案），由此成为拉美首个同性婚姻合法化的国家。
该法案赋予同性伴侣与异性伴侣在婚姻方 面同等的法律权利、应承担的责任和可受到的保护。
阿根廷总统克里斯蒂娜•费尔南德斯是同 性婚姻合法化法案的坚定支持者。该法案的推出预计会在阿根廷国内掀起一股同性恋结婚潮。
该法案遭到了阿根廷罗马天主教会和基督 教福音派组织的强烈抗议，他们共召集了六万名民众前往议会游行，并呼吁教会和学生家长反对该法案的通过。
阿根廷迄今已有九对同性伴侣步入婚姻殿 堂，而他们往往都是用阿根廷宪法人人平等的原则来说服法官，从而维护自己的婚姻权利，但其中一些婚姻之后被宣布无效。
有关日前通过的同性婚姻合法化法案的辩 论持续了近16个小时。
参议员胡安•佩雷斯•阿尔西纳称：“异 性婚姻已存在了几个世纪，这种婚姻形式对于人类的延续至关重要。”胡安是总统克里斯蒂娜的坚定支持者，但在当天的辩论中，他则激情洋溢地发表了一番反对同 性婚姻合法化的演讲。
而总统阵营的另外一员、参议员诺玛•莫 兰迪尼则将无法公开关系的同性恋人所受到的歧视比作阿根廷几十年前的独裁统治。他说：“我们的人性让我们发展成今天这样，而不宽容则恰恰与人性背道而驰。 “
目前，同性民事伴侣关系已在乌拉圭、布 宜诺斯艾利斯、墨西哥的一部分州以及巴西得到合法化，但阿根廷通过的新法案则让其成为拉美首个同性婚姻在全国范围内合法化的国家。结为正式婚姻关系的同性 伴侣将比在民事关系状态下享有更多的权利，包括儿童收养和财产继承方面的权利等。