Part of the LGBT rights series |
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Same-sex marriage is legal in Mexico City, having been approved by its Legislative Assembly on 21 December 2009, and signed into law by Head of Government Marcelo Ebrard on 29 December 2009. [1] The law became effective on 4 March 2010. [2] Mexico City was the first jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage, and the first in Latin America to do so, followed by Argentina in July 2010.
Civil unions, known as sociedades de convivencia in Spanish, which offer some of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage, have been recognized for same-sex couples since March 2007.
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 Mexico City and the representatives of the unicameral Legislative Assembly (ALCDMX) by popular vote in 1997. For the following two decades, the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) 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. [3] 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. [4] 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. [4]
Political party | Members | Yes | No | Abstain | Absent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 34 | 33 | 1 | ||
![]() | 17 | 16 | 1 | ||
![]() | 4 | 4 | |||
![]() | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
![]() | 3 | 3 | |||
![]() | 2 | 2 | |||
![]() | 1 | 1 | |||
![]() | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 66 | 43 | 17 | 5 | 1 |
The law was well received by feminist and LGBT groups, including Emilio Álvarez Icaza, then-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." [4]
The law officially took effect on 16 March 2007. [5] 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. [5] By December 2009, 736 same-sex civil unions had taken place in the city, of which 24 (3%) had been annulled. [6]
On 24 November 2009, PRD Assemblyman David Razú proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico City. According to Razú, "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." [7] The bill sought to modify the definition of marriage contained in the Civil Code using gender-neutral language. Razú 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." [7]
Assemblyman Emiliano Aguilar (PRI) was criticized for giving out homophobic pamphlets, which showed transgender prostitutes with the inscription "Lawmaker, would you like to see your children ending up like this? Do not promote homosexuality." [8] 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. [8] 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. [9] The National Action Party (PAN) announced it would either go to the courts to appeal the law or demand a referendum. [10] [11] However, a referendum on same-sex marriage was rejected by the Legislative Assembly in a 36–22 vote on 18 December 2009. [12]
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 city's Civil Code from "a free union between a man and a woman" to "a free union between two people". [13] 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. [14] PAN vowed to challenge the law in the courts. [14]
On 29 December 2009, Ebrard signed the bill into law and it became effective on March 4, 2010. [1] [2] On August 5, the Supreme Court voted 9–2 to uphold the constitutionality of Mexico City's same-sex marriage law. [15] On August 10, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City must be recognized throughout the country. [16]
Political party | Members | Yes | No | Abstain | Absent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 34 | 34 | |||
![]() | 15 | 15 | |||
![]() | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |
![]() | 5 | 5 | |||
![]() | 3 | 3 | |||
![]() | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 66 | 39 | 20 | 5 | 2 |
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. [17] [18] In early January 2017, the Constituent Assembly voted in its plenary session 68–11 to fully enshrine same-sex marriage in the Mexico City Constitution. [19] Article 11(H)(2) reads: "Equal rights are recognized for families formed by same-sex couples, with or without children, who are under the figure of civil marriage, concubinage or some other civil union." [lower-alpha 1]
More than 270 same-sex couples married in Mexico City between March and July 2010. [22]
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. [23] Figures for 2020 are lower than previous years because of the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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% |
About 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. [24]
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. [25]
From 27 November to 30 November 2009, major 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 opinion. The same poll showed that support was stronger among the younger population (age: 18–29), 67%, and weaker among the oldest (age: 50 and up), 38%. With 48%, the most cited reason was "right of choice" for the supporters, followed by "everybody is equal" with 14%. 39% of the opponents cited "it is not normal" as the main reason to not support same-sex marriage, followed by "we lose values" with 18%. [26]
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. [27]
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. [28]
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". [29] The Roman Catholic Church strongly opposed the law when it was taken up by the city Legislative Assembly, by calling same-sex marriage, among other things, "immoral", saying marriage must hold the promise of procreation, something that is possible only between a man and a woman. [30] Armando Martínez Gómez, president of a Catholic attorneys group, called on Head of Government Marcelo Ebrard to veto the bill, which Martínez noted went further than the city executive had intended when legislators removed a clause that would have forbidden adoption. [30]
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 expanded in the 21st century, 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 Uruguay since August 5, 2013. A bill for legalization was passed by the Chamber of Representatives on December 12, 2012, in a vote of 81–6. The Senate approved it with some minor amendments on April 2, 2013, in a 23–8 vote. The amended bill was approved by the Chamber of Representatives in a 71–21 vote on April 10 and was signed into law by President José Mujica on May 3, 2013. It took effect on August 5. Uruguay was the third country in South America, after Argentina and Brazil, and the fourteenth in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
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 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, 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.
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 Jalisco since a unanimous ruling by the Mexican Supreme Court on 26 January 2016 striking down the state's same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional under Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The ruling was published in the Official Journal of the Federation on 21 April; however, some municipalities refused to marry same-sex couples until being ordered by Congress to do so on 12 May 2016. The state Congress passed a bill codifiying same-sex marriage into law on 6 April 2022.
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 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 Tlaxcala since 25 December 2020. Legislation to legalise same-sex marriage passed the Congress of Tlaxcala on 8 December 2020 by a vote of 16–3, and came into force on 25 December. Tlaxcala has also recognised civil unions, which grant several of the rights and benefits of marriage, for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples since 12 January 2017.
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 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 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 Guanajuato since 20 December 2021. That day, the Secretary General of Government, Libia Dennise García Muñoz, issued an official directive addressed to officials of the state civil registry that, effective immediately, same-sex couples can marry in the state. Guanajuato became the 23rd Mexican state, and the 24th jurisdiction, 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 the State of Mexico since 2 November 2022. On 11 October 2022, the Congress of the State of Mexico voted 50–16 with seven abstentions to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. It was published on 1 November 2022, and took effect the next day. The State of Mexico was the third-to-last state in Mexico to provide for same-sex marriage.
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.
Last year, Mexico City became the first jurisdiction in the region to legalize gay marriages... the city has married more than 270 couples