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Ecuador has first same-sex marriage, following court ruling

A lesbian couple has married in Ecuador in the first gay wedding since a landmark ruling last month by the country's highest court.
Image: Alexandra Chavez, left, and Michelle Aviles celebrate being married during Ecuador's first same sex marriage at a registry office in Guayaquil o
Alexandra Chavez, left, and Michelle Aviles celebrate being married during Ecuador's first same sex marriage at a registry office in Guayaquil on July 18, 2019.Marcos Pin / AFP - Getty Images
By Associated Press

QUITO, Ecuador — 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 Avilés and Alexandra Chávez 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.

Avilés says she knows that some people disapprove of gay weddings, but that she and Chávez have a normal life like anyone else.

Civil registry official Andrea Albán 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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