Argentina legalized gay marriage Thursday, making it the first Latin American country to give same-sex partners equal rights and protections as married heterosexual couples.

According to the Associated Press, the historic vote came in spite of the determined efforts of the Roman Catholic Church and other religious groups against the passage of marriage equality in the country. As lawmakers debated the contentious issue, 60,000 opponents rallied outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires in a protest reportedly affiliated with the Catholic Church.

The vote came after Sen. Daniel Filmus, representing Buenos Aires, pushed congress members to demonstrate to the world how much Argentina has matured.

“Society has grown up. We aren’t the same as we were before,” he said.

The new law not only legalizes same-sex marriage nationally, but also grants gay and lesbian couples the same civil liberties awarded to married heterosexuals including adoption and inheritance rights.

“Today’s historic vote shows how far Catholic Argentina has come, from dictatorship to true democratic values, and how far the freedom to marry movement has come, as twelve countries on four continents now embrace marriage equality,” said Evan Wolfson gay rights activists and organizer to the U.S. Freedom to Marry lobby.

Mexico City is currently the only other Latin American region that has legalized gay marriage. Uruguay, Buenos Aires and states in Mexico and Brazil have legalized same-sex civil unions and in Columbia, same gay and lesbian couples maintain inheritance rights and the option to add their partners to their health insurance plans.