Gay Marriage Comes To Mexico City

Today is the first day that gay couples in Mexico City can register to marry.

The law, which was passed by the city's local assembly in December, gives gay people full marital rights, including the right to adopt. Several gay couples are now expected to register to get married as early as next week. Mexico City is one of the first capitals in Latin America to fully recognise gay marriages. Judith Vazquez and partner Lol-kin Castaneda hope to become one of the first couples to marry under the new law. "It's the end of our fight and the beginning of life in freedom in Mexico City," Ms Vazquez told the BBC. "This is a great, historic moment for the whole of society in Mexico City," added Ms Castaneda. With this law - and previous legalisation on abortion and some form of euthanasia - the Mexican capital has become a liberal and progressive island in what remains a mostly conservative nation, says the BBC's Julian Miglierini in Mexico City.

It's been a banner week for justice and equality in the capital cities of our hemisphere. Today, Mexico City. Yesterday, Washington DC. And also yesterday, Buenos Aires saw its second legal gay marriage.