Ecuador has First Same-Sex Marriage, Following Court Ruling

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A lesbian couple has married in Ecuador in the first same-sex wedding since a landmark ruling last month by the country's highest court.

Michelle Avil�s and Alexandra Ch�vez were wed Thursday at the civil registry office in the coastal city of Guayaquil. They say they will have a party to celebrate the occasion in November.

Avil�s says she knows that some people disapprove of gay weddings, but that she and Ch�vez have a normal life like anyone else.

Civil registry official Andrea Alb�n oversaw the wedding and said several other same-sex couples are preparing to get married.

In June, Ecuador's Constitutional Court granted two gay couples the right to marry following a lengthy legal battle.

About a half dozen Latin American nations have approved same-sex marriage.


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