Gay couples celebrate historic weddings

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard was a guest of honour at the weddings on Thursday of Judith Vazquez and Lol Kin Castaneda and the other couples who tied the knot in a city building.

This happened despite harsh criticism from the Roman Catholic Church and a campaign against the measure by President Felipe Calderon's conservative National Action Party.

Vazquez, a 45-year-old small-business owner, and Castaneda, a 33-year-old psychologist, signed and put their thumb print on the official documents.

Then they sealed their union with a kiss amid cheers from family and friends gathered in the colonial-era building's courtyard, decorated with calla lilies, banners with the colours of Mexico's flag and a sign that read "Tolerance, Liberty, Equality, Solidarity".

"This is the mark of freedom," said Vazquez, raising her thumb.

Vazquez said she and Castaneda have considered themselves married ever since they moved in together six years ago.

"The difference today is that the state will recognise it. This is a victory for all. For us this is a day of celebration," she said.

Mexico City's legislature passed the first law explicitly giving gay marriages the same status as heterosexual ones in December. The legislation also allows same-sex couples to adopt children.

For now the law applies only to residents of Mexico City, though a marriage performed in one state must be recognised in the rest of the country.

On Thursday, the Archdiocese of Mexico accused the city government of approving a "perverse and immoral law."

"It may be legal, but it will never be moral," spokesman Hugo Valdemar Romero said in a statement.

Outside the city building, about two dozen protesters held banners that read "one man plus one woman equals marriage."