Catholic lawyers appeal gay 'marriage' ruling in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb 26, 2010 / 16:59 pm

The Corporation of Catholic Lawyers is appealing the decision of a Buenos Aires judge which, on Tuesday, allowed two gay men to marry in the Argentinean capital.  The lawyers assert that her ruling violates the country's current laws and causes “irreparable damage.”

On Tuesday, Judge Elena Libertatori ordered the Civil Registry to marry a homosexual couple, a move which the Catholic lawyers said was equivalent to an assault on the constitutional rights of a large spectrum of citizens who adhere to the natural order and to moral and religious principles.”

In their appeal, the lawyers noted that the “family is the natural and fundamental element of society and has the right to the protection of society and of the state.” The decision by the Civil Registry not to officiate at this same-sex union was not arbitrary or discriminatory, because it protects marriage as an institution of natural order.

“Since natural marriage is ordered toward the family, which depends on procreation for survival, no homosexual union can base itself solely on complete marital consent.

“For this reason, the union between persons of the same sex can never constitute marriage, much less found a family, as homosexual marriage is unconstitutional and violates human rights,” they added.

Liberatori is the same judge who last November ruled that a social services organization must cover the artificial insemination of a lesbian couple.