First same-sex couples marry in Chile as new law takes effect

March 10 (UPI) -- Two gay men were the first same-sex couple legally married in Chile Thursday as the nation's new marriage law took effect.

Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar were married shortly after 7 a.m. local time in Santiago. Chilean Justice Minister Hernán Larraín and Deputy Human Rights Secretary Lorena Recabarren attended the wedding.

"It is a terrific moment for us as a couple," Silva told the Washington Blade. "This act will be felt across Chile."

Consuelo Morales and Pabla Heuser were married less than half an hour after the men were wed.

Morales said she and Heuser got married for the sake of their two-year-old daughter Josefa. Josefa was born through reciprocal in vitro fertilization.

"It was our dream that we both be her parents," Morales told BBC News.

Civil unions have been legal in Chile since 2015. But same sex marriages were illegal until the new law took effect Thursday.

Legal same sex marriage has more benefits under the law than civil unions do. Until this new law, only one of the two people in a same-sex partnership had full parental rights.

The same-sex marriage law in Chile was introduced by former left-wing President Michelle Bachelet. The law was enacted by her right-wing successor, President Sebastian Piñera.