1 2 Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
↑ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
↑ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
↑ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
↑ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Mexico City since 4 March 2010. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages was approved by the Legislative Assembly on 21 December 2009, and signed into law by Head of GovernmentMarcelo Ebrard on 29 December.[1] The law became effective on 4 March 2010.[2] Mexico City was the first jurisdiction in Mexico and the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. Polling suggests that a majority of Mexico City residents support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.[3]
Civil unions, known as sociedad de convivencia in Spanish, which offer some of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage, have been recognized for same-sex couples since 16 March 2007.
In the early 2000s, Enoé Uranga, an openly lesbianpolitician and activist, unsuccessfully pushed a bill that would have legalized same-sex civil unions in Mexico City under the name sociedad de convivencia (Spanish pronunciation:[sosjeˈðaðdekombiˈβensja]).[4] 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 widespread opposition from right-wing groups and Head of Government Andrés Manuel López Obrador's ambiguity concerning the bill.[5] Nonetheless, as new left-wing Head of Government Marcelo Ebrard was expected to take power in December 2006, the Assembly decided to take up the bill and approved it in a 43–17 vote on 9 November 2006.[5] The law was well received by feminist and LGBT groups, including Emilio Álvarez Icaza, chairman of Mexico City'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 right-wing 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."[5] The law officially took effect on 16 March 2007.[6] Mexico City's first same-sex civil union was performed between Jorge Cerpa Trejo, a 31-year-old economist, and Antonio Medina Velázquez, a 38-year-old journalist.[6] By December 2009, 736 same-sex civil unions had taken place in the city, of which 24 (3%) had been annulled.[7]
On 24 November 2009, PRD Assemblyman David Razú Aznar proposed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico City. According to Razú Aznar, "gays and lesbians pay taxes like everyone else, obey the law like everyone else, build the city like everyone else, and there is no reason they should have a different and special set of rules."[9] The bill sought to modify the definition of marriage in the Civil Code using gender-neutral language. Razú Aznar added that the bill was "to be in agreement with Article 1 of the Constitution of Mexico, which says that no person can be discriminated against for any reason, and with Article 2 of the Civil Code, which says that no person can be deprived of the exercise of their rights for reasons of sexual orientation."[9] Assemblyman Emiliano Aguilar Esquivel of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was criticized for giving out homophobic pamphlets, which showed transgenderprostitutes with the inscription "Lawmaker, would you like to see your children ending up like this? Do not promote homosexuality."[10] Luis González Plascencia, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, backed the bill and said it was up to the Legislative Assembly to consider adoption rights.[10] The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), Amnesty International, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and over 600 non-governmental organizations expressed support for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Mexico City.[11] The National Action Party (PAN) announced it would either go to the courts to appeal the law or demand a referendum.[12][13] However, a referendum on same-sex marriage was rejected by the Legislative Assembly in a 22–36 vote on 18 December 2009.[14]
On 21 December 2009, the Assembly approved the legalization of same-sex marriage in a 39–20 vote. Head of Government Marcelo Ebrard had been expected to sign the bill. The legislation changed the definition of marriage in the Civil Code from "a free union between a man and a woman" to "a free union between two people".[15] Article 146 of the Civil Code reads:[16]Marriage is the free union between two people to establish a common life, in which both provide one another with respect, equality, and mutual support.[a] The law was written to allow same-sex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans, inherit wealth and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse, among other rights they were previously denied under the civil union law.[17] PAN vowed to challenge the law in the courts.[17] On 29 December 2009, Ebrard signed the bill into law, and it became effective on 4 March 2010.[1][2] The first same-sex marriages were performed for five couples on 11 March at the administrative buildings in Cuauhtémoc.[18] On 5 August 2010, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation voted 9–2 to uphold the constitutionality of Mexico City's same-sex marriage law.[19] Five days later, it ruled that same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City must be recognized throughout the country.[20]
On 11 December 2016, the Constituent Assembly of Mexico City, a body formed to create a constitution for Mexico City, voted 9–7 to include the right to same-sex marriage in the draft text.[22][23] In early January 2017, the Constituent Assembly voted 68–11 in plenary to enshrine same-sex marriage in the Mexico City Constitution.[24] Article 11(H)(2) of the Constitution reads:[25][26]
in Spanish: Se reconoce en igualdad de derechos a las familias formadas por parejas de personas LGBTTTI, con o sin hijas e hijos, que estén bajo la figura de matrimonio civil, concubinato o alguna otra unión civil.
in Nahuatl: Mah amo quinixtlahuelitacan in nepapan tlacah ipampa imincihuayo nozo iminoquicho in yuh LGBTTTI, mah zan ihcuitic quipiacan iminnamic huan imincenyeliz, in tlaa quipiazque nozo amo quipiazque imimpilhuan itechcopa tlatlaman nenamictiliztli.
(Equal rights are recognized for families formed by LGBTTTI people, with or without children, who are under the figure of civil marriage, concubinage or some other civil union.)
Statistics
More than 270 same-sex couples married in Mexico City between March and July 2010.[27] Around 6,000 same-sex marriages were performed in the city in the first five years following the law's enactment. 30% of the marriages were between couples from other states and only 2% had ended in divorce.[28] The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City since legalization in 2010 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.[29] Figures for 2020 are lower than previous years because of the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Number of marriages performed in Mexico City
Year
Same-sex
Opposite-sex
Total
% same-sex
Female
Male
Total
2010
309
380
689
33,755
34,444
2.00%
2011
345
457
802
34,284
35,086
2.29%
2012
447
489
936
34,600
35,536
2.63%
2013
536
649
1,185
35,888
37,073
3.20%
2014
761
851
1,612
35,052
36,664
4.40%
2015
657
777
1,434
31,796
33,230
4.32%
2016
677
804
1,481
31,034
32,515
4.55%
2017
682
780
1,462
29,406
30,868
4.74%
2018
690
767
1,457
25,064
26,521
5.49%
2019
743
796
1,539
25,923
27,462
5.60%
2020
429
403
832
11,106
11,938
6.97%
2021
631
610
1,241
18,890
20,131
6.16%
2022
806
795
1,601
25,648
27,249
5.88%
2023
562
652
1,214
24,287
25,501
4.76%
2024
550
453
1,003
23,662
24,665
4.07%
Public opinion
Opinion polls
An opinion poll conducted in September 2009 showed that the population of Mexico City was almost evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage, with 48% in favour and 46% against.[30] In November 2009, major newspaper El Universal reported that, out of a sample of 1,000 Mexico City citizens, 50% supported same-sex marriage, 38% were against and 12% had no opinion. The same poll showed that support was stronger among the younger (18–29) population, 67%, and weaker among the oldest (50 and above), 38%. The most cited reasons for support were "right of choice" (48%), followed by "everybody is equal" (14%). 39% of opponents cited "it is not normal" as their main reason to oppose same-sex marriage, followed by "we lose values" at 18%.[31]
A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 63% of Mexico City residents supported same-sex marriage, while 32% were opposed.[32] According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 29% of the Mexico City public opposed same-sex marriage, the lowest in all of Mexico.[3]
Opposition
The National Action Party issued a statement calling the same-sex marriage bill "an electoral ploy by the PRD that mocks and abuses the LGBT community".[33] The Roman Catholic Church strongly opposed the law when it was taken up by the Legislative Assembly, by calling same-sex marriage, among other things, "immoral", saying that marriage must hold the promise of procreation, "something that is possible only between a man and a woman".[34] Armando Martínez Gómez, the president of a Catholic attorneys group, called on Head of Government Marcelo Ebrard to veto the bill, which Martínez Gómez noted went further than the city executive had intended when legislators removed a clause that would have forbidden adoption.[34]
↑ Spanish: Matrimonio es la unión libre de dos personas para realizar la comunidad de vida, en donde ambos se procuran respeto, igualdad y ayuda mutua.
1 2 New York Times (17 March 2007). "A Milestone in Mexico City". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
↑ Horacio Jiménez y Ella Grajeda (16 December 2009). "PAN amaga con impedir bodas gay" (in Spanish). El Universal. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
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