Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is expected to sign a marriage rights bill passed last night in the senate, making Argentina the first Latin American country to legalize marriage nationally for same-sex couples.  The legislation also gives gay couples the right to adopt children.

The bill, which had earlier won approval in the Chamber of Deputies, was protested by the powerful Catholic Church.

Argentina joins a small but growing group of jurisdictions that allow same-sex couples to marry, including South Africa, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Sweden, certain states in the U.S., and Mexico City.