Same-sex marriage in Chiapas

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Chiapas in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling issued on 11 July 2017 that the ban on same-sex marriage violated the equality and non-discrimination provisions of Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The ruling, published in the Official Journal of the Federation on 11 May 2018, legalized same-sex marriage in the state of Chiapas.

Contents

Background

The Mexican Supreme Court ruled on 12 June 2015 that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional nationwide. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate state laws, meaning that same-sex couples denied the right to marry would still have to seek individual amparos in court. The ruling standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughout Mexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages and made the approval mandatory. Specifically, the court ruled that bans on same-sex marriage violate Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. Article 1 of the Constitution states that "any form of discrimination, based on ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disabilities, social status, medical conditions, religion, opinions, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other form, which violates the human dignity or seeks to annul or diminish the rights and freedoms of the people, is prohibited.", [1] and Article 4 relates to matrimonial equality, stating that "man and woman are equal under the law. The law shall protect the organization and development of the family." [lower-alpha 1] The Constitution of Chiapas does not expressly forbid the recognition of same-sex marriages. Article 9 of the Constitution states that "the State of Chiapas will promote policies aimed at guaranteeing the right of every person to: [...] the protection of the development of their family." [2] [3] [4] [5]

In January 2014, activists filed a complaint with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination against Mayor Rafael Guira Aguilar of Chilón. Guira Aguilar was accused of sponsoring a religious campaign against same-sex marriage and abortion by financing build boards calling bills legalising abortion, same-sex marriage and marijuana "violations of God's commandments" and saying "the wages of sin is death". Human rights groups said the mayor's financial support for the campaign violated secular principles. [6] [7]

On 25 September 2014, Equal Marriage Mexico (Matrimonio Igualitario México) filed an amparo contesting the constitutionality of articles 144 and 145 of the Civil Code of Chiapas. [8] Article 144 stated that marriage is an institution whose goal was "perpetuating the species", while article 145 required "the man and woman" to be at least 16 years of age. On 3 March 2015, the Supreme Court ruled against the state, declared the two articles unconstitutional, and gave the 51 plaintiff couples the right to marry. [9] On 26 March 2015, a document published by the state Congress denounced the ruling, asking for a review and stating that same-sex marriage was "unnatural" while making comparisons of homosexual relationships to incest. [10] The chairman of the Board of Directors of Congress, Jorge Enrique Hernández Bielma, later denied the filing of the review stressing that only he had the power to make the request and insisting that he had never signed any document regarding the issue. [11] However, on 16 April 2015, the media revealed that the state's Judicial Council website had received the review request on 23 March 2015 and had already assigned a number to the case. [12] In September 2016, the Supreme Court ruled against the state on appeal and declared the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. [13]

In December 2015, a lesbian couple was married in Tuxtla Gutiérrez after having successfully won an amparo in the courts. The couple, who remained anonymous, were the first same-sex couple to marry in Chiapas. [14] [15] In July 2016, the Second District Court granted an amparo to a male couple from San Cristóbal de Las Casas. [16]

Legislative action

Legislation to permit same-sex marriages was first proposed in Chiapas in 2012. On 15 February 2012, various LGBTQ associations presented measures to the executive and legislative branches of government recommending amendments to the Civil Code to allow same-sex couples to marry. [17] On 29 November 2013, human rights activist Diego Cadenas Gordillo presented the Congress of Chiapas with a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. [18] [19] The proposal was rejected by Congress on 13 December 2013, citing that "popular initiatives" must be supported by 1.5% of the electorate, or 50,500 voters. [20] On 3 January 2014, an injunction was filed with a federal judge due to the Congress' refusal to act on the measure. [21] [22] The judge rejected the injunction, and shortly thereafter activists filed an appeal with the Twentieth Circuit Court. [21] In November 2014, Gordillo filed a request for formal intervention by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), claiming that neither Congress nor Governor Manuel Velasco Coello had responded to the discriminatory laws banning same-sex marriage in Chiapas. [23] The IACHR officially received the request and registered it as case 1728–14. [24] [25]

On 27 March 2014, Deputy Alejandra Ruiz Soriano from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) introduced a bill to amend article 144 of the Civil Code to state that marriage is "the free union of two people for the community of life, where both respect, equality and mutual aid are sought." The bill would have also standardized concubinage, regardless of sexual orientation. [26] It stalled in Congress, having not even received a first reading two years after introduction. Another same-sex marriage bill was introduced to Congress in May 2016. [27] According to Unidos Diferentes Asociación Civil (UDAC), a local LGBT advocacy group, the new bill was taken off the agenda several times and not voted on due to the actions of the president of Congress, Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar. The bill would not have addressed adoption by same-sex couples. [28] As with the previous proposal, it stalled.

As of June 2022, a bill to codify same-sex marriage in the Civil Code is pending in Congress. [29]

Action of unconstitutionality (2016–2017)

On 6 April 2016, the National Human Rights Commission filed an action of unconstitutionality (acción de inconstitucionalidad; docketed 32/2016) with the Mexican Supreme Court. [30] [31] The Congress of Chiapas had recently amended state family law but while doing so did not repeal the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The Commission took this opportunity to file the action of unconstitutionality. The action sought to legalize same-sex marriage in Chiapas, similarly to Jalisco, where the Supreme Court struck down that state's same-sex marriage ban in a unanimous ruling in early 2016.

On 11 July 2017, the court ruled that the heterosexual definition of marriage in the Civil Code was unconstitutional under the equality and non-discrimination provisions of Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico, legalizing same-sex marriage in the state and specifying that a judicial amparo is no longer required. [32] [33] The first same-sex marriage ceremony following the ruling occurred in late July 2017, though the couple still married using an amparo. [34] The ruling would come into effect upon publication in the Official Journal of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación). On 30 October 2017, the ruling still not published, the civil registry began nonetheless accepting marriage applications from same-sex couples. The first couple to marry without an amparo did so in San Cristóbal de las Casas that day. [35] The ruling was officially published on 11 May 2018. [36] State officials have also confirmed that the court ruling permits same-sex couples to adopt. [37]

Marriage statistics

More than 300 same-sex marriages were performed in Chiapas between December 2017 and June 2018, with most being performed in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Tapachula and Comitán. Many couples were from other states, including from Tabasco, Veracruz and Oaxaca. [38]

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 39% of Chiapas residents supported same-sex marriage, the second lowest in the entire nation, while 58% were opposed. [39]

According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 59% of the Chiapas public opposed same-sex marriage, the highest in Mexico. [40]

See also

Notes

  1. In Spanish: El varón y la mujer son iguales ante la ley. Esta protegerá la organización y el desarrollo de la familia.
    In Tzeltal: Te winik sok te ants winik pajalnaxme ta stojol te mantalile. Ja’ inito yame skolta te mach’a stsobo sbaik sok ta sp’oleselbel te alnich’ane.
    In Tzotzil: Ti vinik xchi’uk antse ko’ol yich’elik ta muk’ ta stojol ti mantalvune. Ja’ ta sk’elbe k’u sba smelolal stsob sbaik xchi’uk slekubtasel smuk’ubtasel uts’ alal.
    In Ch’ol: Wiñik yik’oty x-ixik lajaläch mi ip’istyälob tyi ityojlel tyulmalty’añ. Iliyi mi ikäntyañ bajche’ mi ichumtyäl lakpi’älob cha’añ mi ip’äty-esañ wembä ichumtyäl tyi lakmajchil.
    In Tojolabʼal: Ja winiki sok ja ixuki junxta lajane´ ja b’a leyi. Ja iti wa skolta ja b’a tsomjel sok ja sk’i`elal ja smoj aljeli.
    In Mam: Te x´inq ta x´uj ax tse´ju twuts kawb´il. Jalu colonel ti chmokyib te kyiyel ta txjalil.
    In Lacandon: A xib yejeꞌ xkic rairiꞌ tiꞌ u derecho ich ley. A jeꞌa jeꞌ u cʌnataꞌbic tabar yan yejeꞌbic tabarcʌjan yeju tiar yeju bojoꞌb.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in Mexico</span>

Same-sex marriage is legally recognized and performed throughout Mexico since 31 December 2022. On 10 August 2010 the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled that same-sex marriages performed anywhere within Mexico must be recognized by the 31 states without exception, and fundamental spousal rights except for adoption have also applied to same-sex couples across the country. Mexico was the fifth country in North America and the 33rd worldwide to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Chihuahua since 12 June 2015. By statute, in Mexico, if any five rulings from the courts on a single issue result in the same outcome, legislatures are bound to change the law. In the case of Chihuahua, more than 20 individual amparos were decided with the same outcome, yet the Congress did not act. In anticipation of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ordering the Congress to act, Governor César Duarte Jáquez announced on 11 June that there would be no further prohibition in the state. Marriage licenses became available the following day, 12 June 2015. Chihuahua was the third Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage, after Quintana Roo and Coahuila.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Michoacán since 23 June 2016. On 18 May 2016, the Congress of Michoacán approved a bill to legalise same-sex marriage by a vote of 27 in favour, none opposed and 8 abstentions. The law was published in the state's official journal on 22 June, and took effect the following day. Previously, Congress had refused to amend the Family Code to legalize same-sex marriage, despite a ruling by a state judge requiring it to do so.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Campeche since 20 May 2016. In April 2016, Governor Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas introduced a same-sex marriage bill to the Congress of Campeche, which was approved on 10 May and entered into force 10 days later. Campeche had previously recognized same-sex couples in the form of civil unions only, which were enacted in 2013 and grant couples several of the rights and benefits of marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Colima since 12 June 2016. On 25 May 2016, a bill to legalise same-sex marriage passed the Congress of Colima and was published as law in the state's official journal on 11 June. It came into effect the next day. Colima had previously recognized same-sex civil unions, but this "separate but equal" treatment of granting civil unions to same-sex couples and marriage to opposite-sex couples was declared discriminatory by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation in June 2015. Congress had passed a civil union bill in 2013 but repealed it in 2016 shortly before the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Morelos since 5 July 2016. A bill to amend the State Constitution to legalize same-sex marriage in Morelos passed Congress on 18 May 2016 by 20 votes to 6. Ratification by a majority of the state's 33 municipalities was confirmed on 27 June 2016. The law was published in the official state gazette on 4 July 2016 and took effect the following day.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Querétaro since 13 November 2021. On 22 September 2021, the state Congress passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage in Querétaro. The law was published in the state's official gazette on 12 November, and took effect the following day. Previously, same-sex couples could marry in eight of the eighteen municipalities of Querétaro, comprising 60% of the state's population, despite a state law prohibiting same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Puebla in accordance with a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. On 1 August 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that the same-sex marriage ban containted in the state's Civil Code violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico, legalizing same-sex marriage in the state of Puebla. The ruling was officially published in the Official Journal of the Federation on 16 February 2018.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Baja California since 3 November 2017 when the Secretary General of Government, Francisco Rueda Gómez, instructed the state's civil registry to immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and cease enforcement of the state's same-sex marriage ban. This was in line with jurisprudence established by the Mexican Supreme Court, which has ruled that same-sex marriage bans violate Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. Previously, Baja California had banned same-sex marriage both by statute and in its state constitution.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Nuevo León in accordance with a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation issued on 19 February 2019 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violated the Constitution of Mexico. The ruling came into effect on 31 May 2019 upon publication in the Official Journal of the Federation. By statute, in Mexico, if any five rulings from the courts on a single issue result in the same outcome, legislatures are bound to change the law. In the case of Nuevo León, almost 20 amparos were decided with the same outcome, yet the state did not act. On 19 February 2019, the Supreme Court issued a definitive ruling in an action of unconstitutionality, declaring the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, void and unenforceable.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Aguascalientes in accordance with a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation on 2 April 2019 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The ruling came into effect upon publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation on 16 August 2019, legalizing same-sex marriage in Aguascalientes.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Hidalgo since 11 June 2019. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages in Hidalgo was approved by the state Congress on 14 May 2019. It was published in the official state journal on 10 June and took effect the following day.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in San Luis Potosí since 21 May 2019. The Congress of San Luis Potosí approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on 16 May 2019. It was signed into law by Governor Juan Manuel Carreras on 17 May and published in the official state journal on 20 May. The law took effect the following day.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Baja California Sur since 29 June 2019. On 27 June, the state Congress passed a bill opening marriage to same-sex couples. It was published in the official state gazette on 28 June and took effect the following day, legalizing same-sex marriage in Baja California Sur.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Veracruz since 13 June 2022. On 30 May 2022, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The Congress of Veracruz passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage three days later on 2 June 2022. It was published in the official state journal on 13 June and went into effect the same day.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Sinaloa since 30 June 2021. On 12 June 2021, a federal court ordered the Congress of Sinaloa to pass a same-sex marriage law by 15 June, in accordance with jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. Subsequently, same-sex marriage legislation passed Congress unanimously on 15 June. It was published in the official state journal on 29 June, and entered into force the following day, making Sinaloa the 20th Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Yucatán since 4 March 2022. On 25 August 2021, the Congress of Yucatán removed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. The new law entered into force on 7 September 2021. Congress had 180 days to change statutory law to accommodate same-sex marriage, and did so unanimously on 1 March. The law took effect three days later, and made Yucatán the 25th Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tabasco since 27 October 2022. A bill to legalise same-sex marriage was passed by the Congress of Tabasco on 19 October 2022. It was signed by Governor Carlos Manuel Merino Campos, and published in the official state journal on 26 October, taking effect the next day. Tabasco was the fourth-to-last state in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Durango since 19 September 2022 in accordance with an executive order issued by Governor Esteban Villegas Villarreal the previous day, addressed to officials of the state civil registry that same-sex couples can marry in the state. The Congress of Durango passed same-sex marriage legislation three days later.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tamaulipas since 19 November 2022. On 26 October 2022, the Congress of Tamaulipas passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a 23–12 vote. It was published in the official state journal on 18 November, and took effect the following day. Tamaulipas was the second-to-last Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.

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