BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina on Thursday was on the verge of becoming the first nation in Latin America to legalize gay marriage, turning aside protests from the Roman Catholic Church to give gay couples the same rights as heterosexuals.
The Senate approved the measure in a hard-fought 33-27 vote, with three abstentions. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has indicated that she will sign it into law quickly.
The early-morning vote came after an exhaustive debate that dragged on for more than 14 hours.
Hundreds of supporters of the law, waiting outside Congress in freezing conditions, erupted in cheers and tears of joy when news of the vote reached them.
The law makes Argentina one of the most liberal countries in the world on gay rights, despite fierce opposition from the powerful church and Christian evangelical groups.
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Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, led the opposition, saying that allowing gays and lesbians to marry posed a threat to what he called the "natural" family formed by the union of a man and a woman.
Opponents staged a huge rally earlier in the week, with 60,000 people marching to Congress.
The law allows couples of the same sex to marry, adopt children and inherit property, among other rights and protections.
In Latin America, only Mexico City has legalized gay marriage, along with Portugal, Spain and a handful of other European nations, plus Canada. Same-sex civil unions are legal in Uruguay and some states in Brazil and Mexico.
In the U.S., gays can marry in five states and in Washington, D.C.
