Argentine gay couple hopes to reverse marriage ban

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http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN01465583

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A gay Argentine couple and the mayor of Buenos Aires vowed on Tuesday to appeal a last-minute court ruling that blocked plans for Latin America's first legal same-sex marriage.

Alex Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria Di Bello, 41, were granted a marriage license by a city judge two weeks ago. That ruling gave approval for the two men to wed in the capital despite a national policy defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

But a national judge on Monday ordered the suspension of the ceremony, which had been planned for Tuesday, saying that the city judge had no power to make the earlier ruling.

"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 Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri.

The Roman Catholic Church in Argentina had criticized the judicial decision to let the couple marry and urged authorities to reconsider.

Macri, considered a possible presidential candidate in 2011, has resisted pressure to challenge the court decision, arguing that the time is right for the region's first same-sex marriage.