Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker published his decision on whether to uphold or overturn the California voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8 (or the California Marriage Protection Act) that would insert language into the state constitution saying that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." [Update: Proposition 8 was just overturned.] Walker's ruling is one of a number of recent decisions made by voters and governments around the world affecting the ability of same-sex couples to marry legally. Around the U.S., several states are challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage act, both Washington DC and Mexico City legalized same-sex weddings last March, and on July 15th, Argentina became the first Latin American country to recognize same-sex marriage. Collected here are a handful of recent photos of couples in several countries, all in the process of getting married.
1. Argentine actor Ernesto Larrese (right) and his partner, actor manager Alejandro Vannelli, kiss each other after getting married in Buenos Aires, Argentina on July 30, 2010. Larrese and Vanelli were the first gay couple to be married at the Argentine capital after President Cristina Fernandez signed a new law on July 21 making Argentina the first country in Latin America to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. (JUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty Images)
2. Actor Ernesto Rodriguez Larrese, left, and Alejandro Vanelli hold hands after getting married in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/ Natacha Pisarenko)
3. Jose Luis David Navarro and Miguel Angel Calefato show their marriage license in Frias, Argentina, some 1,100 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, Friday, July 30, 2010. Navarro and Calefato wed in Argentina after President Cristina Fernandez signed a new law on July 21 making Argentina the first country in Latin America to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. (AP Photo/Eugenio Adorni)
4. Chilean couple Giorgio Nocentino (left) and Jaime Zapata pose with their wedding rings after getting married in Mendoza, Argentina on July 31, 2010. (JUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty Images)
5. A couple toasts next to their wedding cake during a symbolic group wedding on Valentine's Day in Lima, Peru on February 14, 2010. The wedding was organized by the local gay community to create a discussion about the illegality of gay marriages in Peru. (REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil)#
6. Phillip Dunham, left, of Washington, and his partner Allen Pittinger, who have been together for nine years, embrace after arriving at Superior Court to obtain their marriage license after the District of Columbia legalized gay marriage in Washington, DC on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
7. Darlene Garner, left, holds her partner, Candy Holmes, of Washington, as she cries after the couple obtained their marriage license Wednesday, March 3, 2010, the first day possible for gay couples since the District of Columbia legalized gay marriage in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
8. Jonathan Howard kisses his partner Gregory Jones (right) after they applied for a marriage license at the Superior Court marriage bureau at the Moultrie Courthouse Building March 3, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
9. Darlene Garner and Candy Holmes (right), both reverends of Metropolitan Community Churches, rejoice as Rev. Dwayne Johnson looks on during their wedding on the first day same-sex couples were allowed to wed under a new law March 9, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
10. Rocky Galloway is embraced by his new husband, Reginald Stanley, right, after being married on the first day of legal gay marriage in Washington, DC on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. One of the couples' twin daughters is held by Cherrie McCoy, left. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
11. Rick Imirowicz (left) and his husband Terrance Health hold hands to pose for a videographer after their wedding ceremony at All Souls Unitarian Church on March 9, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
12. Sinjoyla Townsend (left) becomes emotional as Angelisa Young looks on during their wedding on March 9, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
13. Aisha Mills and Danielle Moodie (left) arrive to apply for a marriage license at the Superior Court marriage bureau at the Moultrie Courthouse Building March 3, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
14. Lol Kin Castaneda (seated) and her partner Judith Vazquez hug in their bedroom in Mexico City March 10, 2010. Castaneda and Vazquez are among some of the first same-sex couples to plan their marriage after the city passed a law in December allowing same-sex marriage. The law, now in effect after being approved by the city's mainly left-wing legislature in December, goes beyond current law allowing same-sex civil unions to give gay couples the same marriage rights as straight couples, including adoption. (REUTERS/Eliana Aponte (MEXICO - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY)
15. Lol Kin Castaneda smiles as she stands next to her wedding dress during an interview with AFP in Mexico City on March 9, 2010. Castaneda and partner Judith Vazquez (background) were the first women to marry in Mexico City on March 11, 2009. (LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images)
16. Judith Vazquez (left) and her partner Lol Kin Castaneda kiss before going to the town hall to be married in Mexico City March 11, 2010. (REUTERS/Eliana Aponte)
17. A lesbian couple who gave their first names as Emma, left, and Janis, right, hold a child as they begin their legal process towards marriage in a city government building in Mexico City, Thursday, March 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
18. Jaime Lopez, right, wipes sweat from the forehead of his husband David Gonzalez after marrying at City Hall in Mexico City, Thursday, March 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
19. Temistocles (left) and his partner Daniel celebrate after getting married at the town hall in Mexico City March 11, 2010. (REUTERS/Daniel Aguilar)
20. Eva and her partner Silvia (left) celebrate after getting married at the Benito Juarez monument in Mexico City March 14, 2010. The two were part of a group of ten same-sex couples who wed in Mexico on Sunday as Mexico City became the first Latin American city to defy religious taboos and macho stereotypes by legalizing gay marriage. (REUTERS/Eliana Aponte)
21. A couple kisses outside the civil registry in Mexico City March 4, 2010. Couples lined up on Thursday to tie the knot under the capital's new same-sex marriage law. (REUTERS/Claudia Daut)
22. Alex Freyre, right, receives a wedding ring from his partner Jose Maria Di Bello during their marriage at the civil registry in Ushuaia, southern Argentina, Monday, Dec. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Government of Tierra del Fuego)
23. Felicia Hurley (right) and Jessica Miller of York, Pennsylvania, share a moment as they wait for the beginning of a group wedding March 20, 2010 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. Ten same-sex couples participated in the mass wedding. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
24. Alexandra Khalaf (right) and Amy Sokal, shortly after after they exchanged vows during a group wedding March 20, 2010 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
25. Dalin Holyoak (left) looks at his partner Drew Parker during a group wedding March 20, 2010 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
26. Wedding cake and champagne is served by activists Friday, Jan. 8 2010, outside the Portuguese parliament in Lisbon, after lawmakers passed a bill allowing gay marriage. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
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