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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Coahuila since 17 September 2014, the effective date of legislation passed on 1 September 2014. Prior to the law's passage, civil unions for same-sex couples were legal, but not same-sex marriage. The passage of the same-sex marriage bill made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico, and the first state (as Mexico City is not a state), to pass same-sex marriage via legislative means. Only Mexico City and the state of Quintana Roo allowed for same-sex marriage prior to Coahuila.
Discussion on the legalization of same-sex civil unions in Coahuila started as early as November 2006, simultaneously with the discussion then ongoing in Mexico City. [1] On 11 January 2007, in a 20–13 vote, the Congress of Coahuila voted to legalize same-sex civil unions under the name pacto civil de solidaridad (PCS, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpaɣto siˈβil de soliðaɾiˈðað] ), which gave property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples; similar to France's civil solidarity pact and Germany's registered life partnership. [2] [3] This made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico after Mexico City to recognize same-sex unions.
Political party | Members | Yes | No | Abstain | Absent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Institutional Revolutionary Party | 20 | 19 | 1 | ||
National Action Party | 9 | 9 | |||
Party of the Democratic Revolution | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
Democratic Unity of Coahuila | 2 | 2 | |||
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico | 1 | 1 | |||
Labor Party | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 35 | 20 | 13 | 2 |
"The PCS represented a sensible response to the existence of citizens who traditionally have been victims of discrimination, humiliation and abuse. This does not have to do with morality. It has to do with legality. As human beings, we have to protect them as they are. It has to do with civil liberty," said Congresswoman Julieta López Fuentes from the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose members voted for the law. [3] Deputy Luis Alberto Mendoza, of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which opposed the law, said it was an "attack against the family, which is society's natural group and is formed by a man and a woman." [3] Other than that, the PCS drew little opposition. Bishop Raúl Vera, who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saltillo, declined to condemn the law. While Vera insisted that "two women or two men cannot get married," he also saw gay people as a vulnerable minority. "Today we live in a society that is composed in a different way. There are people who do not want to marry under the law or in the church. They need legal protection. I should not abandon these people." [2] Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live in the country. [2] 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. [4] Between 2007 and 2013, 426 same-sex couples had entered into a PCS, and 36 of them had been annulled. [5] [6]
On 5 March 2013, Congressman Samuel Acevedo Flores from the Social Democratic Party introduced bills to the Congress of Coahuila to legalize same-sex marriages and adoption by same-sex couples. [7] On 11 February 2014, the Congress approved the adoption bill with a vote of 23 in favor and two against; [8] however, debate on same-sex marriage continued. On 8 August 2014, the Congress again began discussions regarding same-sex marriage. [9] The bill passed on 1 September 2014, making Coahuila the second jurisdiction to reform its laws and the third jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage after Mexico City and Quintana Roo. [10] The law took effect on 17 September 2014, [11] following Governor Rubén Moreira Valdez's signature. The first couple to marry were Jesus Fernando Covarrubias Monsivais and Luis Alberto Reyes Soto in Saltillo on 20 September. [12] Article 139 of the Family Code now reads:
Political party [13] | Members | Yes | No | Abstain | Absent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Institutional Revolutionary Party | 15 | 12 | 3 | ||
National Action Party | 2 | 2 | |||
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
New Alliance Party | 2 | 2 | |||
Coahuila First Party | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
Social Democratic Party | 1 | 1 | |||
Democratic Unity of Coahuila | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 25 | 19 | 1 | 5 |
The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila since legalization in 2014 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. [14] Data published in August 2018 showed that about half of the same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila involved a partner from another state or country. [15]
Year | Same-sex | Opposite-sex | Total | % same-sex | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | Total | ||||
2014 | 42 | 26 | 68 | 16,987 | 17,055 | 0.40% |
2015 | 108 | 61 | 169 | 16,997 | 17,166 | 0.98% |
2016 | 111 | 82 | 193 | 15,315 | 15,508 | 1.24% |
2017 | 112 | 53 | 165 | 14,917 | 15,082 | 1.09% |
2018 | 205 | 102 | 307 | 14,564 | 14,871 | 2.06% |
2019 | 97 | 61 | 158 | 14,824 | 14,982 | 1.05% |
2020 | 46 | 31 | 77 | 11,740 | 11,817 | 0.65% |
2021 | 68 | 45 | 113 | 14,759 | 14,872 | 0.76% |
A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 44% of Coahuila residents supported same-sex marriage, while 52% were opposed. [16]
According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 47% of the Coahuila public opposed same-sex marriage. [17]
This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage and legal recognition of same-sex couples worldwide. It begins with the history of same-sex unions during ancient times, which consisted of unions ranging from informal and temporary relationships to highly ritualized unions, and continues to modern-day state-recognized same-sex marriage. Events concerning same-sex marriages becoming legal in a country or in a country's state are listed in bold.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Mexico have expanded in recent years, in keeping with worldwide legal trends. The intellectual influence of the French Revolution and the brief French occupation of Mexico (1862–67) resulted in the adoption of the Napoleonic Code, which decriminalized same-sex sexual acts in 1871. Laws against public immorality or indecency, however, have been used to prosecute persons who engage in them.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Chile since 10 March 2022. In June 2021, the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, announced that his government would sponsor a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The Senate of Chile passed the legislation on 21 July 2021, and the Chamber of Deputies gave its approval on 23 November 2021. Disagreements on some aspects of the bill led to the formation of a mixed commission to discuss it. Both chambers of the National Congress approved an identical version of the bill on 7 December 2021. President Piñera signed the legislation into law on 9 December, and it was published in the Diario Oficial de la República de Chile on 10 December. The law took effect 90 days later, with the first same-sex marriages taking place on 10 March 2022.
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.
Same-sex marriage is performed and recognized in all municipalities of the state of Quintana Roo. The first two same-sex marriages occurred in Kantunilkin on 28 November 2011 after it was discovered that the state's Civil Code does not specify sex or gender requirements for marriage. However, future same-sex marriages were suspended in January 2012 upon review by the state's Secretary General of Government. The two same-sex marriages in the state were annulled by the Governor of Quintana Roo, Roberto Borge Angulo, in April 2012, but these annulments were reversed by the Secretary General of Government on 3 May. The Secretary's decision allows for future same-sex marriages to be performed in Quintana Roo.
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 Guerrero since 31 December 2022. After the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional nationwide under the Constitution of Mexico on 12 June 2015, officials in Guerrero began announcing plans for a collective group wedding. Governor Rogelio Ortega Martínez submitted a same-sex marriage bill to Congress on 7 July 2015 and instructed civil registrars to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 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 Ortega Martínez in Acapulco.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Nayarit since 23 December 2015. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages was approved by the state Congress on 17 December in a 26–1 vote with 1 abstention. The law was published in the official state journal on 22 December and took effect the following day. Nayarit was the fourth Mexican state to legalise same-sex marriage after Quintana Roo, Coahuila and Chihuahua.
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 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 is legal in Nuevo León is legal in accordance with a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation 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 individual 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 was codified into law by the Nuevo León Congress on 14 June 2023.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in San Luis Potosí since 21 May 2019. The state Congress 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, legalizing same-sex marriage in San Luis Potosí.
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 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. The bill was published in the official state journal on 18 November, and took effect the following day. Tamaulipas was the second-to-last state in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage.