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Sunday, May 27, 2018

How Mexico Quietly Legalized Same-Sex Marriage : Parallels : NPR
src: media.npr.org

In Mexico, only civil marriages are recognized by law, and all its proceedings fall under state legislation. Same-sex marriage is performed without restriction in Mexico City and in the states of Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla and Quintana Roo, as well as in certain municipalities in Querétaro. Legislation to change the laws covering same-sex marriage is currently proposed in almost every state. In addition, courts in all states must approve marriage licenses for same-sex couples when petitioned to do so; individual same-sex marriages have occurred in every state.

Same-sex civil unions are legally performed in Mexico City and in the states of Campeche, Coahuila, Jalisco, Michoacán and Tlaxcala. From 2013 to 2016, they were also performed in the state of Colima, but were replaced by same-sex marriage legislation.

Since August 2010, same-sex marriages performed within Mexico are recognized by the 31 states without exception, and fundamental spousal rights (such as alimony payments, inheritance rights, and the coverage of spouses by the federal social security system) also apply to same-sex couples across the country.

In June 2015, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate any state laws, but standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughout Mexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages.


Video Same-sex marriage in Mexico



History

On 9 November 2006, after several years of consideration, the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District (ALDF) approved a civil union law called Ley de Sociedades de Convivencia. It was the first such law in Mexico, soon followed by the northern state of Coahuila in January 2007.

In late November 2009, the leading party at the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), announced that it was introducing an amendment to the Civil Code to legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico City, a project endorsed by the local Head of Government, Marcelo Ebrard, but strongly opposed by the second-largest political force in the country, the right-of-center National Action Party (PAN) and the Roman Catholic Church. The bill found support from over 600 non-governmental organizations, including the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and Amnesty International (AI). On 21 December 2009, Mexico City became the first Latin American jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage. The law became effective on 4 March 2010.

On 5 August 2010, the Supreme Court voted 8-2 to uphold the constitutionality of Mexico City's same-sex marriage law. The Court later ruled on 10 August 2010, that Mexico City marriages are valid throughout the entire country.

On 28 November 2011, the first two same-sex marriages occurred in Quintana Roo after discovering that Quintana Roo's Civil Code did not explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage, but these marriages were later annulled by the Governor of Quintana Roo in April 2012. In May 2012, the Secretary of State of Quintana Roo reversed the annulments and allowed for future same-sex marriages to be performed in the state.

A 2012 Oaxaca case was pivotal in opening the door to legal same-sex marriage in every state in Mexico, through the recurso de amparo process. Using international decisions, whose verdicts serve as legal precedent in Mexican courts, like the protections in the American Convention on Human Rights Atala Riffo and Daughters v. Chile case, the U.S. cases Loving v. Virginia and Brown v. Board of Education and Mexico's own anti-discrimination ordinances, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled on 5 December 2012 that: 1) Laws limiting marriage to one man and one woman, or for the purposes of perpetuating the species, violated federal law requiring that they "correspond to all persons without any distinction" and 2) That such laws were unconstitutional on the basis of discrimination by sexual orientation and usurpation of the right, not only of the individual but also the couple's right, to form a family. The ruling did not directly overturn the impugned laws, but established that marriages obtained by injunction could be performed in any state, regardless of whether the state Civil Code had been changed.

A landmark decision, issued on 29 January 2014, was the first injunction for marriage recognition in Puebla. The case involved a same-sex couple who legally married in Mexico City in 2012 and filed for spousal benefits with the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in the state of Puebla, but were denied. Because the complainant died during the injunction process, a lower court had dismissed the case, but the Supreme Court of the Nation, granted the injunction and ordered recognition of the marriage by both the state of Puebla and the IMSS. The injunction required IMSS to extend benefits equal to married heterosexual couples' benefits to gays and lesbians who are married or have entered into civil unions throughout Mexico.

A decision of the Mexico Supreme Court on 12 June 2015 resulted in a ruling that found that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate any state laws, meaning same-sex couples denied the right to wed would still have to seek individual injunctions. The ruling standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughout Mexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages, and made the approval mandatory. The ruling was published in the country's Judicial Gazette on 19 June 2015 and became binding on 22 June 2015. Some have suggested the ruling "effectively legalizes" same-sex marriage in Mexico, though without legislative change, civil registrars are still bound to follow the state constitutions.

On 20 December 2015, the National Human Rights Commission submitted a general recommendation to all state executive and legislative bodies, requesting them to allow same-sex marriages in their jurisdictions. It also stated that the National Human Rights Commission considers differentiated marriage constructions for same-sex couples (such as civil unions) to be discriminatory.

On 17 May 2016, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto announced he had signed an initiative to amend Article 4 of the Mexican Constitution, which would legalise same-sex marriage nationwide. Any amendment to the Constitution requires support of at least a two-thirds majority in Congress and ratification from a simple majority of the 31 states. He also submitted a bill to make appropriate changes in the Civil Code. Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Issues of the Chamber of Deputies, Daniel Ordoñez, announced in June 2016 that the President's initiative will be debated within the committee later in the year. Ordoñez also said that 47,000 letters expressing opposition to the initiative were received though none of them were signed. On 9 November 2016, the committee rejected the initiative 19 votes to 8.

On 30 November 2016, the Mexican Supreme Court unanimously declared that six articles of the Law of the Institute of Social Security and Social Services of State Workers (ISSSTE) were unconstitutional because they discriminated against same-sex couples. The Court found that the wording of articles 6, 39, 40, 131 and 135, and sections I and II of the ISSSTE Act violated the rights of same-sex couples to affiliate as beneficiaries of the Institute, and thus, those articles violate the principle of equality and non-discrimination established in Articles 1 and 123 of the Federal Constitution.

On 30 January 2017, a ruling issued by the First Chamber of Mexico's Supreme Court took effect. The ruling states that all same-sex couples in Mexico have a nationwide right to establish and maintain a family life, whether through pro-creation, adoption or other means derived from scientific advances.

In an April 2018 public debate, presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, currently the front-runner to win the July 2018 elections, simply answered "freedom" when asked if he supports same-sex marriage.

México Igualitario Project

The activist group México Igualitario is pursuing a legal strategy to win same-sex marriage state-by-state through court action. When one of Mexico's 256 second-level federal appeals court rules that an existing law is unconstitutional in five separate and consecutive amparos, using identical language in each ruling, this creates jurisprudence against that law. This process is called recurso de amparo. When a same-sex couple is denied the right to marry, they can file an amparo with a federal appeals court to request that they be allowed to legally marry. Since 2015, the courts have been obliged to rule in favor of same-sex couples seeking marriage certificates. An amparo may be invoked when a person feels their rights have been violated. The process is not expensive.

An amparo that has been appealed by the state in question and reached the federal Supreme Court is also called a "resolution". Resolutions have more legal power, as the Supreme Court, after having ruled five times on five different resolutions, can force the state congress to eliminate the law, in this case, a ban on same-sex marriage. In November 2016, Sinaloa became the first state to reach five identical resolutions in a row, followed by Chihuahua in February 2017. However, state authorities in both states have intentionally delayed and blocked attempts to legalize same-sex marriage in the civil codes. Other states that are close to reaching five resolutions include Tamaulipas, Aguascalientes, Sonora and Nuevo León.

The English word "injunction" can be used to refer to both amparos and resolutions.

Actions of unconstitutionality

Actions of unconstitutionality are lawsuits seeking to determine if a certain law is unconstitutional. In Mexico, they can only be filed within 30 days after the law has come into force. As many state marriage laws in Mexico are decades-old, LGBT groups cannot file an action of unconstitutionality against these laws. However, if these laws are modified by the state legislatures, then this qualifies for an action of unconstitutionality. For instance, in 2016, the Congress of Puebla modified its marriage laws, but left intact provisions outlawing same-sex marriages. LGBT groups quickly filed an action of unconstitutionality. Actions of unconstitutionality are reviewed by the full bench of the Mexican Supreme Court. The Court decides whether these laws are constitutional, and if they are not, they are struck down.

As of April 2018, three states (Chiapas, Jalisco and Puebla) have had their same-sex marriage bans struck down by the Supreme Court in such a way. A fourth action of unconstitutionality is currently pending in the state of Nuevo León.

2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling

On 8 January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that the American Convention on Human Rights mandates and requires the recognition of same-sex marriage. The ruling was fully binding on Costa Rica and set binding precedent in other Latin American and Caribbean countries including Mexico.

In the wake of this ruling, LGBT advocacy groups in Mexico have urged the Government to abide by the ruling, and fully legalize same-sex marriage.


Maps Same-sex marriage in Mexico



By state

States and territories that fully license and recognize same-sex marriage

Note: This table shows only states that regularly license same-sex marriages or have legalized them. It does not include states where same-sex couples have been able to marry in individual cases.

Mexico City (Federal District)

Civil union

Being the seat of the Powers of the Union, Mexico City did not belong to any particular state but to all. After years of demanding greater political autonomy, residents were given the right to directly elect the Head of Government of the Federal District and the representatives of the unicameral Legislative Assembly (ALDF) by popular vote in 1997. Ever since, the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has controlled both political powers.

In the early 2000s, Enoé Uranga, an openly lesbian politician and activist, unsuccessfully pushed a bill that would have legalized same-sex civil unions in Mexico City under the name Ley de Sociedades de Convivencia (LSC; "Law for Coexistence Partnerships"). Despite being passed four times by legislative commissions, the bill repeatedly got stuck in plenary voting for its sensitive nature, which could be attributed to the widespread opposition from right-wing groups and then Head of Government Andrés Manuel López Obrador's ambiguity concerning the bill. Nonetheless, since new left-wing mayor Marcelo Ebrard was expected to take power in December 2006, the ALDF decided to take up the bill and approved it in a 43-17 vote on 9 November.

The law was well received by feminist and LGBT groups, including Emilio Álvarez Icaza, then-chairman of the Federal District's Human Rights Commission, who declared that "the law was not a threat to anyone in particular and that it will be a matter of time before it shows positive consequences for different social groups." It was strongly opposed by conservative groups such as the National Parents' Union and the Roman Catholic Church, which labeled the assemblymen who voted for the law as "sinners" and complained it was "vengeance against the Catholic Church from the more radical groups from the left, who felt it was a demand for justice." The law officially took effect on 16 March 2007. Mexico City's first same-sex civil union was between Jorge Cerpa, a 31-year-old economist, and Antonio Medina, a 38-year-old journalist. By December 2009, 736 same-sex civil unions had taken place in the city since the law became effective, of which 24 have been annulled (3%).

In early September 2014, modifications to the civil union agreement were drafted to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and dissolution support. In essence, the law had provided that upon termination, domestic partners were only allowed support for a period equal to half the length of the partnership. The Supreme Court ruled that the provision was discriminatory as it accorded differential treatment in cases of partnership for cohabitation, marriage or concubinage.

Marriage

On 24 November 2009, PRD assemblyman David Razú proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico City. Luis González Plascencia, chairman of the Humans Rights Commission of Mexico City, backed the bill and said that it was up to the Legislative Assembly to consider LGBT adoption. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), International Amnesty (AI), the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and over 600 non-governmental organizations supported the legalization of same-sex marriage in Mexico City. The PAN has announced it will either go to the courts to appeal the law or demand a referendum. However, a referendum on same-sex marriage was rejected by the Legislative Assembly in a 36-22 vote on 18 December 2009. On 21 December 2009, the Legislative Assembly legalized same-sex marriage (39-20) in Mexico City. The bill changes the definition of marriage in the city's Civil Code from "a free union between a man and a woman" to "a free union between two people." The law would grant same-sex couples the same rights as opposite-sex couples, including adopting children. The PAN vowed to challenge the law in the courts. On 29 December 2009, Head of Government Marcelo Ebrard signed the bill into law, which became effective on 4 March 2010. On 5 August, the Supreme Court voted 8-2 to uphold the constitutionality of Mexico City's same-sex marriage law. The Court ruled on 10 August 2010, that Mexico City marriages are valid throughout the country.

In early January 2017, the Constitutional Assembly of Mexico City voted, in its plenary session, 68-11 to fully enshrine same-sex marriage in Mexico City's first Constitution.

Aguascalientes

In September 2014, Cuauhtemoc Escobedo Tejada, legislative member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), announced that a civil unions bill and possibly a same-sex marriage initiative were to be introduced by the Governor of the state for consideration. Escobeda Tejada further announced that if the Governor did not introduce a bill, the PRD would. On 4 November 2014, Escobedo presented a civil unions initiative arguing that "marriage means protection to the mother, matrem, monium, protect, care for the mother," which is an insufficient concept for a civil contract which defines a partnership for "living together, forming a heritage, having children if they wish, and dealing with situations that arise for a couple." He acknowledged that a citizen's initiative on same-sex marriage had been presented a few weeks prior to his initiative. Debate on three initiatives with different schemes for marriage and civil unions began on 21 November 2014.

On 15 June 2016, a PAN congresswoman indicated that her party is preparing a civil union proposal and would present it to Congress when ready. If such a proposal is approved, LGBT activists will most certainly file an action of unconstitutionality before the Mexican Supreme Court. In April 2017, the president of the State Commission of Human Rights announced that they would introduce a new same-sex marriage proposal. In October 2017, a PRD deputy introduced a same-sex marriage and concubinage bill to the state Congress.

In April 2018, PAN, which holds a majority in the Aguascalientes Congress, announced that it would continue to oppose same-sex marriage and would not allow the PRD bill introduced in October 2017 to be approved.

Amparos

  • In May 2014, a male same-sex couple requested an injunction against the Civil Registry in Aguascalientes for refusing to allow them to marry and against the constitutionality of sections 143 and 144 of the Civil Code. The injunction was approved on 29 August 2014.
  • A lesbian couple also applied for an amparo in May and received a favorable response on 2 September 2014.
  • On 1 September 2014, Julián Elizalde Peña, coordinator of the organization, Collective SerGay of Aguascalientes, announced that a third injunction had been requested.
  • On 3 September 2014, the first same-sex wedding was held in Aguascalientes.
  • On 13 October 2014, Elizalde Peña announced that a fourth individual amparo is pending and that a collective injunction is in process.
  • By May 2016, seven injunctions had been granted to same-sex couples in the state. Another nine couples have requested to marry.
  • In December 2016, another same-sex couple was granted an amparo.
  • On 25 January 2017, the Fourth District Court granted an amparo to two women who sought to marry in the state.
  • In May 2017, three amparos were filed before the Third District Court.
  • In late November 2017, four more amparos were granted by the courts.
  • By December 2017, 14 same-sex couples had married in the state.
  • At least 8 same-sex marriages took place in the state from January to April 2018.
  • By April 2018, 17 amparos had been granted in the state.

Baja California

On 23 August 2010, shortly after the ruling of the Mexican Supreme Court requiring all states to recognise same-sex marriages validly performed in another state, state legislators introduced an amendment to article 7 of the Constitution of the State of Baja California, adding the definition of marriage as being the union of a man and a woman. On 29 September 2010, the Congress of Baja California voted 18-1 in favor of the amendment, and after approval by municipalities, it was published on 27 May 2011. On 13 November 2014, the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled that Baja California's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

A bill was introduced in the Baja California Congress on 12 February 2015 to fully legalise same-sex marriage in the state by changing article 7 of the state Constitution. In March 2015, politicians in Tijuana began work on an initiative to legalise same-sex marriage in the city. On 22 February 2017, the head of Baja California's adoption agency declared that same-sex couples have the right to adopt in the state; in line with jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court.

On 3 November 2017, the State Government announced that it would cease to enforce its same-sex marriage ban and that the Civil Registry will begin accepting applications for marriage licenses by same-sex couples.

Baja California Sur

On 9 April 2010, the organization La Comunidad Sudcaliforniana en Diversidad Sexual proposed reforms to the Civil Code to allow for same-sex marriage and adoption. No action was taken by the legislature through 2014, as local politicians deflected the issue saying that the public must be consulted. Even after the granting of the collective amparo, the members of the local Congress advised that the issue of gay marriage had not been discussed and was not on the legislative agenda. On 25 March 2015, the Chief Justice of the Baja California Sur Supreme Court handed Congress a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. On 15 April 2015, a member of Congress told the media that analysis of the initiative would begin in May. On 17 May 2016, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, a PAN congresswoman announced that the proposal will be voted upon by the State Congress before 30 June. She also indicated that PAN is in favor of modifying the Civil Code to allow for same-sex marriage to be legal.

Amparos

  • In August 2014, 14 women and 4 men requested a collective injunction against Articles 330 and 150 of the Baja California Sur Civil Code, which bans same-sex marriage. The injunction was granted by the First Chamber of the Supreme Court on 9 March 2016.
  • On 21 October 2014, the first amparo in Baja California Sur was granted declaring articles 330 and 150 of the Civil Code unconstitutional, according to the lawyer who represented the couples.
  • On 27 November 2014, a group of 20 members of the LGBT community of BCS presented an injunction for same-sex marriage in La Paz.
  • On 10 April 2015, a First District judge approved an injunction involving 36 couples.
  • By 20 August 2016, 180 amparos had been granted to same-sex couples in the state.

Campeche

In April 2016, Campeche's Governor, Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas, submitted a same-sex marriage bill to Congress, which was approved on 10 May 2016. The law was published in the official state gazette on 16 May 2016 and came into effect on 20 May 2016. Campeche became the seventh Mexican state to allow same-sex marriage without the need for a court order.

Chiapas

On 6 April 2016, an action of unconstitutionality was filed before the Mexican Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled, in a 9-2 decision, on 11 July 2017 that the man-woman definition of marriage in the Chiapas Civil Code was unconstitutional, legalizing same-sex marriage in Chiapas and eliminating the need for an amparo.

Chihuahua

On 11 June 2015, the state Governor announced the state would no longer prevent same-sex marriage, making Chihuahua the fourth jurisdiction to have legal same-sex marriage without having to resort to individual injunction. Governor César Duarte Jáquez announced that licenses would be available by 12 June 2015. On 16 June 2015, the President of the Chihuahuan Congress announced that the state would debate the legal codification of the court ruling. Additionally, according to the state DIF, same-sex couples are allowed to adopt jointly in Chihuahua.

In February 2017, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled for the fifth time that Chihuahua's Civil Code is unconstitutional because it hadn't yet been modified to be consistent with the fact that same-sex marriage is legal. The Supreme Court ordered the state Congress to change its Civil Code within 90 days.

Coahuila

The legalization of same-sex civil unions in Coahuila had started to be discussed as early as November 2006, simultaneously with the discussion on-going in Mexico City. On 11 January 2007, the state Congress legalized same-sex civil unions under the name Pacto Civil de Solidaridad (PCS, Civil Pact of Solidarity), which gave property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples. Twenty days after the law had passed, the country's first same-sex civil union took place in Saltillo. It was between 29-year-olds Karina Almaguer and Karla Lopez, a lesbian couple from Tamaulipas.

On 5 March 2013, Congressman Samuel Acevedo Flores, from the Social Democratic Party, introduced a bill to the Congress of Coahuila to legalize same-sex marriages and adoption by same-sex couples. On 11 February 2014, Congress approved the adoption bill and passed the same-sex marriage bill on 1 September 2014. It took effect on 17 September, and the first couple married on 20 September.

Colima

In July 2009, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) introduced a formal initiative to legalize civil unions in the western state of Colima. Nevertheless, the following month, the local Legislature decided not to take up the initiative, following widespread opposition from right-wing groups. In December 2009, Governor of Colima Mario Anguiano Moreno agreed to discuss the legalization of civil unions and adoption by same-sex couples in the current Legislature.

On 4 July 2013, the State Congress approved a new form of union, called "enlace conyugal" (conjugal bond) for same-sex couples, which according to PRI Deputy Martín Flores Castañeda grants the same rights and obligations as marriage, but it is doubtful whether such rights and obligations would be recognized outside the state.

A bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state was unanimously approved by the Congress of Colima on 25 May 2016. The bill was passed 24 to 0. The existing same-sex civil unions was repealed simultaneously. The same-sex marriage law was published in the state's official gazette on 11 June 2016 and came into effect on 12 June 2016. The new law allows couples who previously contracted civil unions before the legislation was repealed to have them recognized by the state or converted to a marriage. It also allows same-sex couples to adopt children jointly.

Durango

In September 2013, PRD deputy in Durango, Israel Soto Peña, introduced a bill to legalize same sex marriage in the state. As no action had been taken on the bill, in February 2014, he requested that it be expedited. On 10 April 2014, the bill was rejected claiming that it would not sufficiently address the legal changes necessary to correct the Civil Code. In May, Soto Peña announced that he would revamp the initiative and resubmit it, which he did on 1 November 2014.

On 10 February 2016, the Justice Commission of the Congress of Durango approved a draft bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. However, the bill's plenary discussion was postponed for 6 months in order to organize discussions on the matter and to inform legislators on the subject before a vote. On 31 January 2017, Congress rejected the bill, in a 15-4 vote with 4 abstentions. The bill proposed by PAN was supported by both the PRD and PAN, but was opposed by the PRI.

Amparos

  • In December 2013, the first same-sex male couple was able to marry in Durango after obtaining an injunction. It was appealed and the Supreme Court of the Nation later ruled in favor of the couple.
  • On 13 November 2014, it was announced that 18 people had filed an injunction in Durango against the Civil Code defining marriage as only the union between a man and a woman. A first hearing was scheduled for 27 November 2014. On 28 November 2014, the State Congress and Government rejected the injunction stating that challenges to the Civil Code had to be made within 30 days of it being enacted thus were 66 years too late. In that regard, activists then escalated the injunction request to the Supreme Court of the Nation.
  • On 1 April 2015, it was announced that the 18 couples had hit another setback when the State claimed they could not seek an injunction because their residency was questioned. The couples reiterated their intention to file a case before the Mexican Supreme Court.

Guanajuato

In response to the first amparo approval, on 21 February 2014, the PRD introduced a bill in Congress to amend the Civil Code of the State so that marriages between people of the same sex are allowed. The plan was endorsed by the PRI on 26 February 2014. A detailed plan to move the initiatives forward was introduced on 19 January 2015. The plan calls for review by area university law schools, the bar association, the state legislature, local officials in all municipalities and creation of a website for public input. On 13 April 2015, the Justice Committee with a majority from the state's lead PAN party, voted 3-2 to shelve both bills citing PAN's objection to same-sex unions.

On 29 April 2016, the Guanajuato City Council unanimously passed a resolution allowing a lesbian couple to marry in the municipality. Additionally, they urged Governor Miguel Márquez Márquez to change the Civil Code to allow for same-sex marriages.

Amparos

  • On 2 September 2013, a lesbian couple was denied their request to marry by the Civil Registry of Guanajuato. The couple appealed the decision in federal court. The Civil Registry argued that article 72 of the Rules of the Civil Registry defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, whereas the couple's attorneys argued that the state Civil Code does not define marriage and thus does not define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. On 18 September 2013, the judge approved the couple's amparo. On 19 March 2014, the couple became the first same-sex couple to marry in the state.
  • On 4 March 2014, Guillermo Romo Méndez, PRI deputy in Guanajuato, agreed to assist a group of 45 same-sex couples in submitting individual amparos to register their marriages in the state. 33 couples came from León while 12 came from Silao. 40 of them were male same-sex couples and 5 of them were lesbian couples.
  • On 19 March 2014, the first collective injunction for Guanajuato was filed for 30 couples in León.
  • On 3 July 2014, a male same-sex couple were denied a marriage license by the civil registry of León and filed for an injunction.
  • On 16 September 2014, it was announced by the Association of Human Development and Sexuality in Irapuato that a collective amparo of 320 persons was to be filed.
  • On 25 November 2014, a judge in the first district ruled in favor of the amparo filed on 3 July, and no appeal was filed by the state. The couple married in January 2015.
  • On 17 January 2015, the first male same sex couple to be married in the state were joined in León.
  • In April 2016, the Civil Registry announced they've already married nine same-sex couples in the state.
  • On 27 May 2016, a federal judge granted an amparo to a same-sex couple, and ruled it is discriminatory to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.
  • Guanajuato's tenth same-sex marriage amparo was granted to a same-sex couple from Salamanca in August 2016.
  • In November 2016, two women who had been granted an amparo were united in marriage in Irapuato. From August to November 2016, fifteen amparos against the state's same-sex marriage ban were issued.
  • By May 2018, 43 amparos had been granted in the state.

Guerrero

After the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation's ruling went into effect on 22 June, officials in Guerrero began announcing plans for a collective group wedding. Governor Rogelio Ortega submitted a same-sex marriage bill to Congress on 7 July 2015. Legislators lamented they would have preferred to have the bill passed before marriages took place, but given the time line presented, it was unlikely. On 10 July 2015, twenty same-sex couples were married by Governor Rogelio Ortega in Acapulco. On 13 January 2016, the head of the Civil Registry of Acapulco claimed that the 20 same-sex couples that married on 11 July 2015 in Acapulco were only deceived by the Governor and his wife, as there is no law that permit same-sex marriage in the state, unless an amparo is granted. On 13 February 2016, a day before mass Valentine's Day weddings were planned statewide, the head of Guerrero's State Civil Registry department announced that same-sex couples could marry in any of the jurisdictions that want to marry the couples and criticised Acapulco's Civil Registry for not allowing these kinds of weddings. The department head also stated that any marriage conducted in Guerrero will be legally valid. Same-sex marriages will depend on the civil registry of each municipality, if the registry does not want to conduct same-sex marriages the couples might go to another municipality or ask for an amparo to be granted.

In April 2016, an LGBT rights group in the state began the process of filing lawsuits to have existing marriages in the region recognised if the municipality refuses to do so.

By March 2017, municipalities in Guerrero were no longer issuing marriage licences without an amparo.

Hidalgo

As Mexico City and Coahuila had recently legalized civil unions, a similar Ley de Sociedades de Convivencia was introduced in Hidalgo in July 2007. However, it stalled in the Legislature as well as in successive congresses. In October 2013, the Legislature indicated there was not sufficient "maturity" in the society to accept same-sex marriage and that the Legislature would instead consider a conjugal partnership bill.

Amparos

  • Due to the lack of legislative action, on 8 August 2014, a collective injunction for 6 same-sex couples was presented to the twenty-ninth circuit of the Third District Court for the state of Hidalgo to contest the constitutionality of Articles 8, 11 and 143 of the Family Code and secure the right to marry.
  • The first injunction was approved in June 2016. The state subsequently appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. In September 2016, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court declared various articles in the state's Civil Code unconstitutional for limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. The first same-sex wedding in the state occurred on 8 October.
  • By August 2017, 8 amparos had been granted to same-sex couples in Hidalgo.

Jalisco

In April 2013, a cross-party group of deputies presented the Free Coexistence Act (Ley de Libre Convivencia). In it is established that same-sex civil unions can be applied in the state, as long as they are not considered as marriages, there is no adoption and they are performed with a civil law notary. On 31 October 2013, the Jalisco Congress approved the Act in a 20-15 vote, one abstained and three were absent. The law took effect on 1 January 2014.

The first same-sex marriage in the state occurred via amparo in December 2013. In January 2016, the full bench of the Mexican Supreme Court unanimously declared the Civil Code unconstitutional for limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. The Jalisco State Civil Registry Directory changed all marriage licenses to gender-neutral on 22 March 2016 so that same-sex couples can already begin receiving them. On 21 April 2016, the Supreme Court ruling was printed in the Official Diary of the Mexican Federation.

On 12 May 2016, the Congress of Jalisco complied with the Mexican Supreme Court ruling and instructed all the state's municipalities to issue same-sex marriage licenses. In June 2017, a bill removing the heterosexual definition of marriage and inserting a gender-neutral definition was introduced to Congress.

México

In 2008, an initiative for the legalization of civil unions was launched in México, but never advanced. In 2010, a citizen's initiative to legalize same-sex marriage was presented to Congress. After 3 years, it had not been reviewed and thus in mid-2013 PRD Deputy Octavio Martinez introduced a same-sex marriage bill. In January 2014, Martinez advised that the PRD would continue to press for same-sex marriage and insist that it be discussed by Congress. In January 2015, Israfil Filós Real, president of the Civil Association of Vulnerable Groups, called on the state Legislature to act on the proposals for same-sex marriage and hate crimes as they have been pending without resolution for nine years. The state Governor submitted a marriage bill while PRD submitted a proposal to legalize same-sex adoption on 5 March 2015. A Congress session for the possible approval of the Governor's same-sex marriage bill was scheduled for 31 May 2016. However two political parties, PAN and New Alliance, requested more time to study the proposal. José Manzur Quiroga, Secretary General of the State Government, announced that the bill may be voted upon during Congress' next extraordinary session.

Amparos

  • On 15 February 2013, four same-sex couples filed documents to marry at the Civil Registry of Toluca and after their refusal, filed for an amparo. On 24 June 2013, a federal judge granted the injunction ruling that the Civil Code of the state prohibiting their marriages was discriminatory, but the state filed an appeal. The appellate Court on Administrative Matters of the Second Circuit in the State, declared itself unable to resolve the dispute in January 2014, whereupon it was escalated to the Supreme Court. Disposition of the case was set for 6 November 2014, however, the judge postponed the decision for an additional ten days. On 25 February 2015, the Supreme Court granted the injunction, and declared the Civil Code of the State to be unconstitutional and discriminatory, and contrary to the international treaties Mexico has signed. A lesbian couple became the first same-sex couple to marry in the state on 18 April 2015.
  • Two more amparos were granted in Toluca in late October 2017. One of the two couples married in December 2017, making them the first male couple to marry in the state.
  • By December 2017, six same-sex couples had been granted injunctions to marry.

Michoacán

On 27 August 2015, the Justice and Human Rights Committee announced it would enact a civil union law for same-sex couples. It was approved unanimously in a 34-0 vote by the full Michoacán Congress on 7 September 2015. The law was published on 30 September 2015 in the state's official journal.

On 9 February 2016, a new Legislature's Justice and Human Rights Committee approved a Family Code that would allow same-sex marriage and joint adoption. It was stated that the full Michoacán Congress would vote on the proposal in the coming days. However, the vote was postponed until sometime in May 2016. On 18 May 2016, the State Congress eventually approved the proposal by a vote of 27 in favor, none opposed and 8 abstentions. The law was published in the state's official diary on 22 June 2016 and came into effect on 23 June. The law allows couples to adopt children jointly.

Morelos

On 18 May 2016, the Congress of Morelos voted 20 to 6 to approve a constitutional change to legalize same-sex marriage. A constitutional change requires the ratification of at least 17 of the 33 municipalities in the state. The 33 municipalities had until 25 June 2016 to act on the constitutional change. At the end of the process, a total of 17 municipalities had ratified the constitutional change and 15 had voted against ratification, while 1 municipality was awarded an extra week, although the clear majority being in favor meant that same-sex marriage would become legal in the state. The law was promulgated and published in the state's official gazette on 4 July 2016. It took effect on 5 July. The state adoption agency clarified that the law shall allow same-sex couples to adopt jointly as the process is open to all spouses in Morelos.

Nayarit

On 25 June 2015, Luis Manuel Hernández Escobedo, deputy from the Party of the Democratic Revolution, introduced a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry and making the definition of concubinage gender-neutral. On 17 December 2015, the State Congress approved the bill, in a 26-1 vote, with 1 abstention. The bill was published in the official journal, following the governor's signature, on 22 December 2015, and took effect the following day.

Nuevo León

On 17 February 2016, the First Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court ordered the Governor of Nuevo León, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, to recognize cohabitation between same-sex couples. Former Governor Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz and the local Congress both filed appeals challenging the ruling of a federal judge who ruled it is discriminatory to limit concubinage to opposite-sex couples. In September 2016, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court declared various articles in the state's Civil Code unconstitutional for limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.

On 17 June 2015, the Nueva Alianza Party announced their intention to introduce a same-sex marriage bill. An Independent congressman will also submit his own civil union proposal with the support of the ruling PAN. On 22 June 2015, Nueva Alianza member and Congress President, María Dolores Leal Cantú, presented the same-sex marriage bill. On 16 May 2016, the president of the Legislative Commission of the State Congress announced that the bill will be voted upon sometime in September, but this did not happen. In November 2017, the state's PAN Leader announced that the Nuevo León Congress would not discuss the same-sex marriage bill. His statement came after LGBT groups organized a protest in favor of same-sex marriage in front of the Congress building.

An action of unconstitutionality against Nuevo León's same-sex marriage ban was filed in February 2018.

Amparos

  • In September 2013, a federal judge ordered the Civil Registry of Nuevo León to register the marriage of a female same-sex couple. Governor Rodrigo Medina said his administration would abide by the order, but only for that specific case.
  • On 13 November 2013, a male same-sex couple went to the Civil Registry Administrative Office 4 in San Pedro Garza García and made an application for a marriage license. They were told to expect a response within one week. In December 2013, they filed a complaint at the headquarters of the Ombudsman in the State Commission on Human Rights against the Registry for failure to provide them with an official response.
  • In June 2014, Mariaurora Mota, the legal representative of Strategic Litigation, reported that nine injunctions have been filed in the state, but only one has been resolved.
  • The State Constitutional Court held a hearing on 12 September 2014, to rule on an amparo filed by 50 members of the LGBT community claiming discrimination against their human rights contained in Articles 147 and 291 of the Civil Code for the state of Nuevo León. On 16 October 2014, the Supreme Court declared articles 147 and 219 of the Civil Code of the state unconstitutional and granted an injunction to 48 applicants for same-sex marriages.
  • In March 2015, it was confirmed that an amparo for 35 couples was pending for Nuevo León.
  • On 19 October 2017, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court declared Article 147 of the Civil Code of Nuevo León unconstitutional for discriminating against same-sex couples.

Oaxaca

On 26 August 2012, a Mexican federal court judge ordered the state of Oaxaca to perform same-sex marriages based on a recent constitutional amendment which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. This ruling was reviewed by the Mexican Supreme Court and the Court issued a unanimous ruling against the ban on same-sex marriage, though the state has yet to enact legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry. In July 2017, a same-sex couple was successful in getting married without first receiving a court order.

Amparos

  • In August 2011, three same-sex couples, four women and two men, applied to be married and were denied by the Civil Registry in Oaxaca. In January 2012, an injunction was sought, but was denied on 31 January. The couples appealed the judgment to the Collegiate Courts in Civil and Administrative Matters for the State. On 9 April 2012, one of the lesbian couples was granted permission by a judge to marry in Oaxaca, thus becoming the first approval for same-sex marriage in the state. The case was appealed. On 5 December 2012, the three couples won their appeal from the Supreme Court, but local officials refused to perform the marriages. The case returned to the Supreme Court and an additional ruling in favor of the couples was issued. The first lesbian couple received authorization to marry from the Civil Registrar on 25 February 2013. They were the first same-sex couple married in Oaxaca and celebrated their marriage on 22 March 2013. The male couple, received notice of their authorization on 3 June 2013 and on 5 June 2013, the third couple, the second injunction for a lesbian couple, was authorized.
  • On 23 April 2014, the Mexican Supreme Court set further precedent in the State of Oaxaca. The case brought before the Court involved 39 same-sex couples who sought the right to marry.
  • It was announced in November 2014 that a fourth same-sex marriage had been performed.
  • On 5 July 2016, two men won an injunction allowing them to wed.

Puebla

On 7 December 2006, a similar bill to that of Mexico City was proposed in Puebla, but it faced strong opposition and criticism from deputies of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN), who declared that "the traditional family is the only social model, and there cannot be another one." Though proposals were presented in 2011 and repeatedly introduced in successive years, no change to the law was approved by the legislatures.

On 27 April 2016, an action of unconstitutionality was filed before the Mexican Supreme Court. On 1 August 2017, the Supreme Court unanimously declared same-sex marriage to be legal in Puebla, striking down the Civil Code which limited marriage to one man and one woman for the purpose of procreation, and eliminating the need for individual amparos. Shortly after the ruling, Puebla officials confirmed that same-sex couples are allowed to adopt.

Querétaro

On 10 September 2014, it was announced that the Legislature would be considering, in the present session, a civil unions bill, as the two prior injunctions obtained were insufficient to require Congress to evaluate same-sex marriage. On 28 November 2014, Luis Bernardo Nava Guerrero, President of the Congressional Joint Commission, announced that the legislation would be postponed to 2015. On 4 February 2016, the Youth Legislature 2016 approved a motion, in a 38-8 vote, expressing support for same-sex marriage. On 13 June 2016, Eric Salas González, President of the Board of the LVIII Legislature of Querétaro, announced that the Congress of Querétaro would wait until same-sex marriage is legislated at the federal level before changing the Queretan Civil Code.

On 21 July 2015, the civil registrar of the municipality of Santiago de Querétaro, which comprises around 40% of the state's population, announced that same-sex coupes may marry in the municipality without the need for an amparo. As of January 2017, seven other municipalities in the state are marrying same-sex couples without requiring them to receive an amparo beforehand: Amealco de Bonfil, Cadereyta de Montes, Ezequiel Montes, Huimilpan, Pedro Escobedo, San Joaquín and Tolimán. Three municipalities explicitly require same-sex couple to receive an amparo before getting married: Colón, Corregidora and Pinal de Amoles.

In April 2017, the head of Querétaro's adoption agency confirmed that same-sex couples are allowed to legally adopt in the state.

Amparos

  • On 28 February 2014, two same-sex couples filed for an injunction against the Civil Registry in Querétaro. On 17 January 2015, one of the couples wed in Querétaro.
  • In August 2014, an injunction in favor of a lesbian couple was granted making them the first in the state to be allowed to marry.
  • On 25 August 2014, the second injunction was also approved. As the officials did not object to the ruling within the 10-day period required by law, the first same-sex marriage was scheduled for October 2014. The ceremony was held, at the same registry which had previously denied them permission, on 4 October 2014.
  • The third injunction in the state was requested in the first week of October 2014.
  • The third same-sex marriage in Querétaro was celebrated for a male couple on 28 January 2015 and a fourth same-sex marriage took place on 31 January 2015.
  • On 23 April 2015, an injunction filed in August 2014 involving 55 couples was successful after articles 137 and 273 of the state's Civil Code were declared unconstitutional.
  • Another mass injunction was scheduled for May 2015.
  • By October 2017, 13 amparos had been granted in Querétaro.

Quintana Roo

Same-sex marriages can be performed in Quintana Roo after a decision by the state's Secretary of State. In November 2011, some public officials in the state began performing same-sex marriages after reviewing the state's civil code. The Civil Code of Quintana Roo does not state sex or gender requirements for marriage, only specifying "people interested in getting married". A same-sex couple filed for a marriage license in Cancún and Chetumal after discovering this legal quirk, but both cities rejected their applications, arguing that a man-woman marriage was implied. The couple then applied in Lázaro Cárdenas Municipality, where authorities accepted the application. Quintana Roo's first two same-sex marriages were held in the community of Kantunilkin on 28 November 2011.

In November 2014, it was announced that a bill to officially legalize same-sex marriage in the state would be introduced and voted on in the current legislative session, thereby replacing the loophole used by couples.

In May 2017, a new same-sex marriage bill was introduced to the state Congress.

San Luis Potosí

On 28 April 2014, a citizens initiative to legalize same-sex marriage was submitted to the Congress of San Luis Potosí. On 8 August 2014, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights and Gender Equity, Miguel Maza Hernández said that analysis of the proposal would begin. On 17 June 2015, Hernández announced the state's commitment to extending marriage to same-sex couples and stated that deliberations would happen after a June 2015 national Supreme Court ruling declaring all laws against same-sex marriage unconstitutional is published in the judicial gazette. Hernández added that although no laws preventing same-sex couples from adopting exist, Congress would prefer to amend the Family Code to codify equal adoption rights along with adding a new marriage law. On 6 June 2016, it was announced that a special committee would study the marriage bill and vote on it within 90 days. In November 2016, the State Congress voted against the bill legalizing same-sex marriage. One PRD deputy, who mistakenly voted against the bill, announced that he will introduce a new same-sex marriage proposal in 2017. The new bill was introduced in October 2017.

Amparos

  • In July 2013, a male same-sex couple applied under amparo 459/2014 for the right to marry. On 30 May 2014, the First District Court found that Article 15 of the Family Code of San Luis Potosí was discriminatory and 3 June 2014 granted the couple an injunction to marry in the state.
  • On 26 March 2014, a male couple went to the registrar at San Luis Potosí, were refused a marriage license, and applied for an injunction, which was approved on 4 August 2014 by the 6th District Court. On 7 August 2014, the First Official of the Civil Registry filed a counter-injunction to avoid recording the marriage. In October 2014, the appeal was denied by the second Appellate Court of the Ninth Circuit and the registrar was ordered to conduct the marriage.
  • In November 2014, the State Commission of Human Rights (ECHR) announced that it was reviewing two complaints from parties who had received injunctions to marry but were being denied by the Civil Registry.
  • In early September 2014, a lesbian couple applied for the first same-sex marriage license in Ciudad Valles and were advised that state law forbids their union and the previous amparo granted applied only to the couple previously approved. An amparo involving 20 couples was granted in June 2016.
  • In November 2016, a 3-judge federal appeals court declared Article 15 of the Family Code of San Luis Potosí unconstitutional for defining marriage as only between one man and one woman.
  • By January 2017, 20 amparos had been granted to same-sex couples throughout the state.
  • In April 2017, another amparo was granted by a court.
  • Another amparo was granted by the First District Court in late December 2017.

Sinaloa

In January 2013, the Family Code of the state of Sinaloa was changed to limit marriage or cohabitation to couples consisting of a man and a woman. Three injunctions were filed to contest the changes, but two were dismissed. On 2 September 2014, Deputy Sandra Lara launched an initiative to amend articles 40 and 165 of the Family Code and allow for same-sex marriage in the state. On 7 October 2014, the first reading of the proposal occurred. On 5 November 2014, the Party of Social Encounter (PES) introduced an initiative into the Sinaloan Congress to prevent same-sex couples from adopting children. In February 2015, the conservative National Action Party (PAN) introduced a civil unions bill which bans children of same-sex partners from residing with their same-sex parents.

On 14 April 2016, a prominent member of Sinaloa's Congress stated that the Legislature would modify the Family Code, but did not give any indication of when that would happen. On 24 May 2016, the President of the Political Coordination Board of Sinaloa' State Congress announced that a bill allowing for same-sex marriage to be legal will be voted upon in the upcoming days, however, a vote has yet to take place.

In July 2017, PAN and the New Alliance Party of Sinaloa, who are nationally opposed to same-sex marriage, announced their support for such marriages. According to a September 2017 poll, 57% of Sinaloans supported same-sex marriage.

On 25 November 2016, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled for the fifth time that Sinaloa's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. The Court declared the state's same-sex marriage ban void and inoperable. According to local LGBT activists however, state authorities had been deliberately delaying the legalization of same-sex marriage. On 15 May 2018, following approximately 17 months of delay, the Supreme Court ordered the state to legalize same-sex marriage or face unspecified consequences. The Court ordered the state Legislature to modify Article 44 of the Civil Code to legalize same-sex marriage.

Amparos

  • On 12 July 2013, Seventh District Judge Teddy Abraham Torres López, of Los Mochis, granted an injunction ruling that the Legislature of the state must comply with its obligations of equality and non-discrimination. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, which on 15 April 2015 ruled against the state's Family Code citing discrimination.
  • On 24 September 2014, the Supreme Court granted 3 injunctions sought in Culiacán and declared Articles 40 and 165 of the Civil Code unconstitutional.
  • In mid-October 2014, 70 people from Mazatlán applied for an injunction in the Ninth District Court.
  • On 23 November 2014, it was announced that for the first time, the Supreme Court of the Nation had extended concubinage to same-sex couples in response to an injunction requested by a lesbian couple.
  • In March 2016, the First Chamber of the Mexican Supreme Court declared Articles 40 and 165 of the Family Code unconstitutional when it ruled against the state in two appeals Congress had filed against earlier verdicts in favor of several same-sex couples. The Supreme Court warned the state that if they did not modify the law then the Court would take measures similar to Jalisco's if it approved enough injunctions to create jurisprudence.
  • An amparo was granted to a male same-sex couple from El Fuerte in January 2017.

Sonora

Same-sex couples could marry only with the assistance of an amparo (court order) until 11 May 2016, when the Director of the State Civil Registry, Martha Julissa Bojórquez Castillo, announced that same-sex couples could begin marrying in the state without the need for an amparo. However, on 18 May 2016 the Governor ordered all civil registries in the state to retain the existing statutory ban on same-sex marriage and only provide same-sex couples with marriage certificates if they successfully received an amparo.

In September 2017, all political parties in the state agreed to begin analyzing a proposed same-sex marriage bill. The bill's main sponsor said he was hopeful it would be accepted.

Tabasco

After Mexico City's Legislative Assembly legalized same-sex marriages and LGBT adoption in December 2009, debate resurged in states where civil unions had been previously proposed. In 2009, in the southeastern state of Tabasco, 20 same-sex couples sent a motion to the state Legislature, asking it to allow them to marry. The state's largest political parties, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), announced their support for same-sex marriage in 2010. Despite the support of political parties, there was no legislative will to change the law, so in April 2014 an initiative to reform Article 154 of the Civil Code of the State of Tabasco was presented by the organization Tabasqueños United for Diversity and Sexual Health (Tudysex) to legalize same-sex marriage in Tabasco. In May 2014, the PRD announced that they would be willing to consider civil unions in Tabasco. PRD submitted a same-sex marriage and adoption bill on 3 July 2015. On 18 May 2016, a member of the State Congress announced there is consensus in Congress to approve the bill submitted by the PRD, but no bill has yet passed.

Amparos

  • On 18 February 2015, a local newspaper announced that the first same-sex marriage had occurred on 13 February after a legal appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice.
  • By May 2017, ten same-sex couples had married in Tabasco.

Tamaulipas

In 2011, a bill to provide "coexistence" for same-sex couples was promoted by local organizations in Tamaulipas. In 2012, organizers presented legislators with 25,000 signatures in favor of same-sex marriage. In 2013, the PRD agreed to bring the issue to the Legislature and support the proposal. In June 2015, Deputy Olga Sosa Ruiz confirmed that the Congress of Tamaulipas was working on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. She stated that the reform is complex as they are attempting to remove all discriminatory terms and are working with the gender equality commission awaiting input from the commission of vulnerable groups. She predicted that the law would be passed within the next legislative session, though no bill has passed as of October 2017.

Amparos

  • On 26 June 2014, a collective amparo challenging the constitutionality of the Civil Code of Tamaulipas was filed in the Nineteenth Circuit Court. 57 persons were granted the right to marry in Tamaulipas on 1 October 2014 by federal judges in both the Third District Court based in Nuevo Laredo and the Ninth District court, based in Tampico. The state filed an appeal. This was the first time that an injunction has been sought for individuals rather than just couples. Should any of the single parties wish to marry, their partners will be covered. On 22 February 2017, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the definition of marriage in the Civil Code of Tamaulipas is unconstitutional, thereby granting the injunction filed in June 2014 to 57 people from Nuevo Laredo.
  • An additional 68 persons had requested another collective injunction from Tampico and had their amparo approved on 26 March 2015.
  • On 23 May 2016, another amparo was granted to two women who successfully challenged the Civil Registry's refusal to allow them to legally marry.
  • In November 2016, a federal judge granted another amparo to a same-sex couple. The judge also declared Article 43 of the Regulatory Law the Offices of the Civil Registry, as well as Article 124 of the Civil Code of the State of Tamaulipas, to be unconstitutional, stating that it is obligatory that the terms of those two provisions be altered to allow for legal same-sex marriages.
  • In January 2017, a federal judge ordered the deputies of the State Congress to legalize same-sex marriage or be fined for 100 days.
  • The first same-sex marriage in Altamira was performed in December 2017.

Tlaxcala

Two bills were presented to the Tlaxcala Congress on 2 October 2009 to legalize same-sex marriage and eliminate discrimination. The initiative was blocked in 2010 by officials. and in fact, the state, along with officials from Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos and Sonora, sent a formal challenge to the acceptance of same-sex marriage passed by the Federal District. In June 2011, activists questioned why no action had been taken and were told that the initiatives were still "climbing the roster." In February 2014, a PRD deputy, Eréndira Montiel Jiménez, promised to present new initiatives to eradicate discrimination and for a law of coexistence. The proposed law, introduced on 3 April 2014, outlined the legal framework to eliminate discrimination, to develop a form of coexistence "that has the purpose of marriage or concubinage," and to amend rules of adoption. In June 2014, activists urged Congress to act in favor of same-sex marriages and anti-discrimination ordinances which had been submitted by Montiel Jiménez. President of the Committee for Gender Equality and Anti-Trafficking of Persons of the Congress of Tlxacala, María Antonieta Stankiewicz Ramírez, announced that a same-sex marriage bill will be debated within the committee sometime in July 2016. On 29 December 2016, the Congress of Tlaxcala approved the coexistence bill proposed by PRD Deputy Eréndira Montiel Jiménez in 2014, in an 18-4 vote. Two PAN deputies walked out in protest as the voting happened. The bill provides cohabiting same-sex and opposite-sex couples with many of the same rights and obligations of marriage. It was published in the official journal, following the Governor's signature, on 11 January 2017 and took effect the following day. On 13 October 2017, the New Alliance Party proposed a same-sex marriage to the State Congress.

Amparos

  • In June 2015, it was announced that since the SCJN's ruling, 15 couples have gone to the Civil Registry in Tlaxcala asking to marry. All have been rejected per state law. The State Commission for Human Rights (ECHR) helped a lesbian couple with the amparo process and advised that they will assist others in obtaining injunctions. On 18 January 2016, the first marriage via amparo took place in Tlaxcala. The lesbian couple had been one of the couples who went to the Civil Registry in June 2015. The amparo was only granted after the State Commission of Human Rights (ECHR) interceded on their behalf.

Veracruz

In March 2014, Deputy Cuauhtémoc Pola presented an initiative to introduce a partnership of coexistence law for Veracruz, but no legislative action occurred. In July 2014, a federal judge deemed the current marriage law of Veracruz to be discriminatory. Due to lack of action on the civil unions bill and the federal ruling, Cuauhtémoc Pola introduced to Congress on 31 July 2014 a reform initiative to amend Article 75 of the Civil Code and legalize same-sex marriage. In September 2014, Pola confirmed that the bill was still awaiting review by committees. In April 2015, citing disappointment with the stalled civil unions bill, the President of Veracruz's Human Rights Committee announced the intention to hand Congress a bill to legalise same-sex marriage. In July 2016, Deputy Mónica Robles Barajas (PVEM) submitted a new initiative to change article 75 of the state Civil Code in order to legalize same-sex marriage. Most of these proposals have seen very little legislative progress, due to opposition from PAN.

On 20 February 2017, Governor Miguel Ángel Yunes issued an executive order legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. Four days later, following protests from Catholic groups, Governor Yunes repealed the order. Following the repeal of the order, LGBT activists announced they were filing a case to legalize same-sex marriage in the state once and for all. On 20 July 2017, the case against the Governor and the state's same-sex marriage ban was filed before the Fourth District Court. On 7 November 2017, the Court issued its ruling in the case, declaring the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Some LGBT groups had suggested that the ruling effectively legalizes same-sex marriage in the state, though state officials announced that they would continue to enforce the state's marriage ban.

In September 2016, the head of Veracruz's adoption agency announced that same-sex couples may adopt children jointly in the state. In April 2017, the Civil Registry of Xalapa announced its support for same-sex marriage.

Amparos

  • In February 2014, a male same-sex couple applied for a marriage license at the Civil Registry in Veracruz and were denied. They filed for an injunction, which was granted 22 July 2014. Despite the approval the registrar in Veracruz refused to schedule a ceremony for the couple. After presenting their injunction to the registrar in Boca del Río, the wedding was scheduled for 6 December 2014. The ceremony was conducted at the Civil Registry and it was announced that a second wedding for a lesbian couple is being planned.
  • On 29 January 2015, it was announced that a lesbian couple had won an injunction and would be married in the state on 4 April 2015. It was also announced that there are 8 other pending amparos.
  • On 18 June 2015, the civil registrar of the municipality of Veracruz reported that four same-sex couples requested to marry and were denied due to prohibitions on same-sex marriage. The couples were advised they must file an amparo.
  • On 16 May 2016, a local LGBT group, Comunidad Jarochos, announced that the four same-sex couples had filed an amparo.
  • On 26 May 2016, the injunctions of three more same-sex couples (two lesbian couples and one gay couple) were granted, taking the number of granted injunctions in the state to seven.
  • 18 same-sex marriages had been performed in Veracruz by August 2017.

Yucatán

In the southeastern state of Yucatán, the local Congress overwhelmingly approved a ban on same-sex marriage in a 24-1 vote on 21 July 2009. The law raised heterosexual marriage and families to the constitutional level via the approval of amendments to the state's Civil Code. The bill was promoted by right-wing organization Pro Yucatán Network to reject all efforts by people of the same sex to form a family and adopt children. PAN politicians justified the ban alleging that "there still aren't adequate conditions within Yucatán society to allow for unions between people of the same sex." The event led to protests outside the local Congress by LGBT organizations, whose leaders were expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.

On 17 May 2014, a group of civil society organizations brought a legal action before the Constitutional Court of the State of Yucatán under the guise of "correcting a legislative omission." It was the first time a mechanism to correct an omission had been used in Mexico as the basis of a suit. The organizations claimed 10 injunctions had been approved in the state without legislative action. The suit asked for Articles 49 and 94 of the Family Code which limit marriage to one man and one woman to be "considered in the broadest sense and that the gender of its members be undefined." On 26 February 2015, the court announced that it would decide on 2 March whether the state ban on same-sex marriage was in violation of the federal constitution and international agreements. On 2 March 2015, the Yucatán court dismissed the appeal for constitutional action to change the Civil Code. Supporters of amending the code vowed to appeal the decision. In June 2015, they filed a lawsuit against the Yucatán court in federal court. The suit argued that the Yucatán court's decision was incorrect as the Mexican Constitution prohibits discrimination against the LGBT community. After postponing a hearing five times, the Mexican Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit against the state's Constitutional Court on 31 May 2017.

On 24 May 2016, a prominent member of Yucatán's state Congress stated that Yucatán would wait for the Federal Congress to legislate on same-sex marriage before taking the necessary steps to legalize it. In September 2017, the Yucatán Congress unanimously approved a PRD-proposed bill to begin discussion on bills that had previously been neglected and not discussed, including the same-sex marriage bill. Debate on the marriage bill can therefore begin.

Amparos

  • On 26 March 2013, a male same-sex couple asked the Civil Registry of Yucatán to marry. The Civil Registry rejected the bid saying that the State Constitution defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The couple appealed the decision of the Civil Registry and on 1 July the Third District Court of the Yucatán State recognized that they have the right to marry. Since the Civil Registry did not appeal the District Court decision, the order (amparo) took effect.
  • Four male couples and two lesbian couples went to a civil registry office on 14 August 2013 to request to be married and were denied. They applied for individual injunctions and 3 of them were approved on 4 and 15 November and 17 December 2013 by the Courts in the First, Fourth and Third District, respectively. Both of the lesbian couples and one male couple were approved. On 6 January 2014, the first lesbian marriage in Yucatán took place. The second lesbian couple married on 25 January 2014. On 18 February 2014, the male couple wed at the Civil Registry of Mérida.
  • In June 2015, a lesbian couple, who married in Yucatán in 2014 via amparo, obtained an injunction to register the birth of their son with both mothers' names. They had attempted to register the birth six months earlier and were denied.
  • From January 2017 to March 2017, 15 same-sex couples married in Yucatán, compared to 16 couples who married in all of 2016.

Zacatecas

A proposal for civil unions was submitted to the Congress of Zacatecas on 30 June 2011. Lawmakers admitted in 2013 that it was not prioritized. In March 2014, legislators again refused to approve the measure.

On 18 June 2015, a member of PRD announced that she will submit a bill to reform the state's Civil and Family Codes to give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

Amparos

  • The first injunction filed by a same-sex couple in the state was approved in May 2016.
  • On 3 April 2017, a female same-sex couple from Fresnillo gained an amparo allowing them to marry.
  • Another amparo was granted to a male couple from Fresnillo. They married in October 2017, in a private ceremony alongside family and friends.

Project Definition - lgbtrights
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Public opinion

In a Parametría poll, conducted from 17 to 20 November 2006, 1,200 Mexican adults were asked if they would support a constitutional amendment that would legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico. 17% responded yes, 61% said no and 14% had no opinion. The same poll showed 28% in support of same-sex civil unions, 41% were opposed and 28% had no opinion. From 27 to 30 November 2009, major Mexican newspaper El Universal polled 1,000 Mexico City citizens concerning the legalization of same-sex marriage in the city. 50% supported it, 38% were against it and 12% had no idea. The same poll showed that support was stronger among the youngest population (age: 18-29), 67%, and weaker among the oldest (age: 50-onwards), 38%. With 48%, the most cited reason was "right of choice" for the supporters, followed by "everybody is equal" with 14%. 39% of the opposers cited "it is not normal" as the main reason to not support same-sex marriage, followed by "we lose values" with 18%.

Guillermo Bustamante Manilla, a PAN member and president of UNPF, as well as the father of Guillermo Bustamante Artasánchez, a law director of the Secretary of the Interior, opposes abortion and same-sex civil unions and has described the latter as "anti-natural." He has publicly asked voters not to cast votes for "abortionists" parties and those who are in favor of homosexual relationships.

A study conducted by Vanderbilt University in 2010 concluded that 37.8% of Mexicans supported same-sex marriage.

A poll conducted in July 2013 found a significant increase in support for same-sex marriage, with 52% of Mexicans in favour of legalising same-sex marriage. When broken down by religion, support was 52% among Roman Catholics and 62% among non-religious people. However, in the same poll, only 24% of respondents supported same-sex adoption.

According to Pew Research Center survey, conducted between 30 October and 12 November 2013, 49% of Mexicans supported same-sex marriage, 43% were opposed.

In early 2014, the Strategic Communication Cabinet, a statistical consulting services company, published a report called "Social Intolerance In Mexico", in which polls that covered several social issues were conducted in the 45 largest cities and municipalities. The study found that the strongest support for same-sex marriages was registered in Mexico City, Tijuana, San Luis Potosí, Colima and La Paz; whereas it was the weakest in Durango, Ciudad Victoria, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua and Monterrey. Additionally, adoption by same-sex couples was more widely accepted in Mexico City, the border cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, as well as Xalapa and Cancún; meanwhile the least support was found in Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Aguascalientes, Durango and Campeche.

Following President Enrique Peña Nieto's proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico, a poll on the issue was carried out by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica. 69% of respondents were in favor of the change. 64% said they saw it as an advance in the recognition of human rights. Public opinion changed radically over the course of 16 years. In 2000, 62% felt that same-sex marriage should not be allowed under any circumstances. In 2016, only 25% felt that way.


Photos Show Celebration Outside Supreme Court After Gay Marriage ...
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See also

  • LGBT rights in Mexico
  • Recognition of same-sex unions in the Americas

Same-Sex Couples in Mexico Can Adopt Children, Supreme Court Rules ...
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References


Mexico City becomes first city in Latin America to legalize same ...
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External links

  • Law for Coexistence Partnerships (Mexico City) -- full text (in Spanish)
  • Civil Pact of Solidarity (Coahuila) -- full text (in Spanish)

Source of article : Wikipedia