Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed the bill legalizing same-sex marriage July 21 at the Casa Rosada in a ceremony attended by gay leaders.

In an interview with the newspaper Página/12, Fernández said: “This is another milestone in the expansion of civil rights. They tried to disguise it as a religious issue, but it is strictly social. ... I think we should take it very naturally, without drama.”

She added that “marriage comes from Roman law,” where it was created to deal “with private property (and) property rights.”

“It arose in a pagan society, which the Roman society was,” she said. “So to give a religious connotation to the union between two people isn’t even historical truth.”

Fernández said that although Argentina is only the 10th country to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, “without a doubt more countries will follow.”

“Holland was the first and today already there are nine (other) countries,” she said. “The other day the president of Iceland got married to her (female) partner. The president of Iceland! ... In a few more years, this debate is going to end up anachronistic.” (It was actually Iceland’s prime minister, not president.)

The marriage bill cleared the Senate 33-27 on July 15 following 15 hours of debate.

City officials have said the first wedding will take place Aug. 13 in Buenos Aires’ trendy Palermo area. A longtime gay couple in their 60s will tie the knot at the office where they were turned away when they tried to marry three years ago.

Same-sex marriage also is legal in Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Mexico City, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C.

Seventeen people were killed at a birthday party organized by a gay group in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico, on July 19, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Another 18 people were injured in the attack at the Italia Inn, during which the gunmen said nothing.

Police theorize that the bloodbath was related to drug-cartel clashes and may not have been a hate crime.

The party had been advertised online and was promoted as being open to everyone. The state of Coahuila borders Texas.

President Mary McAleese signed Ireland’s civil-partnership bill into law July 19.

It will take effect early next year and extend marriage rights and obligations in areas such as taxes, pensions, property, tenancy, inheritance, alimony, immigration and social benefits.

Couples will unite before a registrar after providing three months’ advance notice. To end a partnership, a couple will go to court and prove they’ve not lived together for two of the last three years.

The law also will recognize foreign same-sex unions and provide some rights for unregistered cohabiting couples.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern called the law “one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation to be enacted since independence.”

Only about 20 gay or lesbian couples have gotten married in Portugal since it became possible June 7.

Another 30 weddings are scheduled before the end of the year. Portugal has about 10.6 million residents.

Meanwhile, two administrative changes have been made to resolve snafus encountered by same-sex couples.

People who married in other countries before the Portuguese law took effect now will have their foreign marriages recognized. Previously, those marriages were not recognized but, at the same time, such couples couldn’t marry in Portugal because they were already married.

The second change removed a requirement to include the gender of the person one intends to marry on a required certificate of matrimonial capacity that a foreigner must obtain from his or her native land before marrying in Portugal. There were problems with getting such certificates from some nations that oppose same-sex marriages. One does not have to live in Portugal to get married there.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at gays again.

Speaking at a church event July 17, Mugabe said: “We say no to gays! We will not listen to those advocating the inclusion of their rights in the (upcoming new) constitution. Today, the Anglican Church condones marriages between men and the same for women. The Archbishop of Canterbury is blessing such marriages — that is similar to dog behavior.”

The Gagarin district court in Moscow on July 20 upheld the refusal of Russia’s Justice Ministry to register an organization pushing for recognition of same-sex unions.

The ministry claimed it cannot officially approve Marriage Equality Russia because national law defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and the group’s objectives therefore “conflict with the laws of the Russian Federation.”

Activist Nikolai Alekseev says MER may appeal to the Supreme Court, then the European Court of Human Rights.

“The court has created a very dangerous precedent which goes much further than the campaign for gay rights, making it possible to deny registration to any organization whose purpose is to fight for changes in the Russian laws,” he said.

Assistance: Bill Kelley