Same-sex marriage in Baja California

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,[1][6] though no vote on the bill has yet taken place. Discussions on the proposal have been delayed multiple times because of opponents of same-sex marriage.[7]

In March 2015, politicians in Tijuana began work on an initiative to legalise same-sex marriage in the city.[8]

In July 2020, a constitutional amendment that would repeal the ban against same-sex marriage failed in the Congress of Baja California with 15 legislators in favor, 3 opposed and 7 in abstention.[9]Later that month it was subjected to an extraordinary vote because 7 people abstained. The resolution was 16 legislators in favor, 3 opposed and 6 abstensions, failing to meet the required 17 votes to modify the state constitution.[10]

In October of the same year the bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state was divided into two bills. One for the modification of the state constitution, and the other for the state civil code effectively lowering the required vote threshold to a simple majority of 13.[11]

On 18 March 2013, a male same-sex couple applied to marry in Ensenada. Their application was denied on 21 March, and they filed an amparo (injunction) on 12 April 2014.[12] On 31 October 2014, the Seventh District Court ordered the city of Ensenada to allow their marriage.[13][14] Officials in Ensenada later stated that they would abide by the injunction.[15]

On 17 June 2013, a male same-sex couple were denied the right to marry in Mexicali and applied for an injunction.[16] The injunction was approved in October 2013,[17] but was appealed by the registrar to the Supreme Court.[18] On 25 June 2014, the initial injunction was upheld and Mexico's Supreme Court deemed the state's marriage ban unconstitutional.[19] On 31 October 2014, the civil registrar of Mexicali, Adriana Guadalupe Ramirez, notified the couple that the decision would not be appealed, the refusal was withdrawn, and the marriage could proceed.[20] Though Ramirez scheduled the ceremony for 21 November 2014, when the couple appeared in the Wedding Hall to marry, the judge refused to perform the ceremony and the celebrants were evacuated after a bomb threat was received.[21][22] The Civil Registry claimed that discrepancies in documents had been rectified and announced a rescheduling of the wedding for 10 January 2015.[23] On 10 January, the couple again returned to the registry for their marriage ceremony which was declined for the fourth time, under a citizen's allegation that the couple suffered from "insanity". The citizen who made the allegation was an official who performs premarital counseling required by the city and who had refused to give the couple the certificate that they had completed the counseling.[24] In response to the ongoing controversy in Mexicali, officials in Tijuana announced that they were willing to comply with an amparo and offer premarital counseling to same-sex couples.[25] Lawyers for the couple filed contempt of court proceedings against the mayor and registrar for failure to carry out the instructions of the Supreme Court.[26] During a protest march scheduled by the LGBT community, officials in Mexicali announced that they were dismissing the accusation of "madness" and were ready to perform the marriage. On 17 January 2015, the couple became the first to marry in Baja California.[27][28] In March 2015, it was announced that the Government had asked for a review of the amparos granted in the state thus far with the intent of delaying the issuance of jurisprudence.[29]

On 6 August 2013, a lesbian couple were denied a marriage license by the civil registrar in Mexicali and filed for an injunction. They received notice of the injunction's approval on 30 December 2013.[30]

On 22 January 2015, a lesbian couple applied to marry at the Civil Registry in Tijuana and were rejected. The couple vowed to fight the denial and insisted that as federal law trumps local law, an injunction is unnecessary since the Supreme Court had already declared Baja California's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.[31][32]

Three additional injunctions were filed in September 2014.[33] One of the three couples involved married on 14 May 2016 after their injunction was granted.[34] It was announced in June 2015 that ten people had filed for a collective amparo in Tijuana.[35] It was granted on 18 March 2016.[36] On 22 December 2016, a judge declared the state's same-sex marriage unconstitutional and granted an amparo to another same-sex couple.[37]

In September 2017, a same-sex couple successfully married in Tijuana without first receiving an amparo.[38]

On 3 November 2017, the Government of Baja California announced that it would cease to enforce its ban on same-sex marriage. It instructed the state's 5 municipalities to immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples without requiring them to receive an injunction beforehand.[39][40][41]

In late December 2017, the State Commission of Human Rights announced that state officials cannot refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.[42] Although one municipality, Mexicali, continued to refuse to issue marriage certificates,[43] it had relented by late December 2019.[44] In early 2020, the State Civil Registry instructed all civil registrars in the state to process marriage applications by same-sex couples in a manner similar to opposite-sex couples.[7]