Same-sex marriage in Coahuila

Same-sex marriage has been legal in the Mexican state of Coahuila since 17 September 2014, based on an effective date established by 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 a federal district), 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.

Marriage
Civil unions and
registered partnerships
Common-law marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. Performed statewide in 18 states and Mexico City, in certain municipalities in three other states, and recognized by all states in such cases.
  2. Performed in the Netherlands proper, including the Caribbean Netherlands. Registered in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  3. Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau or the Cook Islands.
  4. Not recognized in Caribbean overseas territories, though marriage-equivalent ordered for the Cayman Islands.
  5. Neither performed nor recognized in American Samoa or some tribal nations.
  6. Cohabitation. Registered foreign marriages confer limited rights. Marriage recognized in Tel Aviv.
  7. Degree of recognition unknown. No actual cases to date.
  8. Limited to residency rights for foreign spouses of EU citizens.
  9. Legal guardianships (nationwide, except Hong Kong and Macau), residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents (Hong Kong).
  10. Recognition of foreign marriage for parental rights
  11. Maitri Karar–type contractual relationships, but it is not legally enforceable
  12. Offer "partnership certificates", which provide some tools (such as hospital visitation rights) but do not offer any legal recognition
  13. Limited to spouses of foreign diplomatic officials.
* Not yet in effect or automatic deadline set by judicial body for same-sex marriage to become legal
LGBT portal

Civil unions

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), which gave property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples; similar to France's pacte civil de solidarité and Germany's Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft.[2][3]

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 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, 36 of them had been annulled.[5][6]

Same-sex marriage
Same-sex unions performed in Mexican states
  Same-sex marriages performed.*
Stripes: Proportion of municipal coverage.
  Civil unions performed; marriage by amparo only.
  Marriage not performed (except by amparo) despite Supreme Court order.
  Marriage accessible by amparo or by traveling out of state.
*Legislation is not equal in all states. See details.

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 adoptions by same-sex couples 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 district to reform its Civil Code and the third jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage.[10] The law took effect on 17 September 2014,[11] and the first couple married on 20 September.[12] Article 139 of the Family Code now reads:

  • in Spanish: El matrimonio es la unión de dos personas que consienten en realizar una comunidad de vida basada en el afecto, respeto, igualdad de trato y ayuda mutua, y toman de manera libre, responsable, voluntaria e informada, las decisiones reproductivas que se ajustan a su proyecto de vida, incluida la posibilidad de procrear o adoptar.
  • (Marriage is the union of two people who consent to carry out a life together based on affection, respect, equal treatment and mutual assistance, and freely, responsibly, voluntarily and informally take reproductive decisions in accordance with their life project, including the possibility of procreation and adoption.)
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

Statistics

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]

Number of marriages performed in Coahuila
Year Same-sex Opposite-sex Total % same-sex
Female Male Total
201442266816,98717,0550.40%
20151086116916,99717,1660.98%
20161118219315,31515,5081.24%
20171125316514,91715,0821.09%
201820510230714,56414,8712.06%
2019976115814,82414,9821.05%

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]

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 44% of Coahuila residents supported same-sex marriage. 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]

See also

References
  1. BBC News (10 November 2006). "Mexico City passes gay union law". Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  2. S. Lynne Walker (5 March 2007). "New law propels gay rights in Mexico". Mail & Guardian Online. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  3. Mail & Guardian Online (13 January 2007). "Mexican state approves gay civil unions". Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  4. "Mexico's first civil union". Gay.com UK & Ireland. Associated Press. 1 February 2007. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  5. Karla Garza (17 January 2010). "Decaen pactos de convivencia en Coahuila" (in Spanish). Vanguardia. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  6. "Cae 50% pactos civiles de solidaridad". Milenio (in Spanish). 21 February 2014.
  7. Congreso de Coahuila inicia discusión sobre matrimonio gay
  8. Aprueban adopción gay en Coahuila
  9. Congreso en discusión del matrimonio homosexual en Coahuila
  10. "Aprueban matrimonios gay en Coahuila". Vangardia.com.mx. 1 September 2014.
  11. "Legales desde hoy matrimonios entre homosexuales en Coahuila". Vanguardia. 17 September 2014.
  12. "First Gay Couple Marries In Coahuila, Mexico". On Top Magazine. 21 September 2014.
  13. Hilda Hernández (1 September 2014). "Aprueba Congreso local bodas gays en Coahuila" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  14. "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish).
  15. (in Spanish) Acaparan foráneos 50% de bodas gay, entre discriminación de mayoría en Coahuila
  16. (in Spanish) Encuesta nacional 2017, Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica
  17. (in Spanish) #Data | ¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay?

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