Same-sex marriage in Mexico City

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]

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
  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, known as sociedades de convivencia which offer some of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage, have been recognized for same-sex couples since March 2007.

Civil unions

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 then-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
Party of the Democratic Revolution 34 33 1
National Action Party 17 16 1
Institutional Revolutionary Party 4 4
New Alliance Party 4 2 1 1
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico 3 3
Social Democratic Party 2 2
Labor Party 1 1
Convergence 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]

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 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, 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
Party of the Democratic Revolution 34 34
National Action Party 15 15
Institutional Revolutionary Party 8 2 5 1
Labor Party 5 5
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico 3 3
New Alliance Party 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]

Statistics

From March to July 2010, more than 270 same-sex couples had wed in Mexico City.[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]

Number of marriages performed in Mexico City
Year Same-sex Opposite-sex Total % same-sex
Female Male Total
201030938068933,75534,4442.00%
201134545780234,28435,0862.29%
201244748993634,60035,5362.63%
20135366491,18535,88837,0733.20%
20147618511,61235,05236,6644.40%
20156577771,43431,79633,2304.32%
20166778041,48131,03432,5154.55%
20176827801,46229,40630,8684.74%
20186907671,45725,06426,5215.49%
20197437961,53925,92327,4625.60%

About 6,000 same-sex marriages were performed in the city in the first five years following the law's enactment. Of these, 30% were between couples from other states and only 2% had ended in divorce.[24]

Public opinion

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. 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]

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."[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]

See also

Notes
  1. 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.[20]
    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.[21]

References
  1. Mark Stevenson (Associated Press) (29 December 2009). "Mexico City enacts region's 1st gay marriage law". MSNBC. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  2. Mónica Archundia (5 January 2010). "La primera unión gay, para marzo" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  3. Latin American Herald Tribune (16 March 2009). "First Openly Gay Mayoral Candidate Runs in Mexico". Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  4. Erich Adolfo Moncada Cota (19 November 2006). "Mexico City Approves Same Sex Unions". Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  5. New York Times (17 March 2007). "A Milestone in Mexico City". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  6. Fernando Martínez (25 December 2009). "Sociedades de convivencia, 97% en pie" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  7. Latin American Herald Tribune (24 November 2009). "Mexico City Lawmakers to Consider Gay Marriage". Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  8. Mónica Archundia (25 November 2009). "Proyecto de matrimonio gay "divorcia" a la ALDF" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  9. Anodis (11 December 2009). "Preparan dictamen de matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  10. Horacio Jiménez y Ella Grajeda (16 December 2009). "PAN amaga con impedir bodas gay" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  11. Notimex (15 December 2009). "Recurrirá PAN a Corte de legalizarse 'matrimonio' entre homosexuales" (in Spanish). Yahoo! México. Archived from the original on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  12. Rocío González Alvarado (18 December 2009). "Rechaza ALDF referéndum para bodas gay" (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  13. Associated Press (21 December 2009). "Mexico City 1st in region to approve gay marriage". Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  14. Associated Press (21 December 2009). "Mexico City assembly legalizes same-sex marriage". Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  15. Dwyer Arce (August 6, 2010). "Mexico high court upholds Mexico City same-sex marriage law". JURIST – Paper Chase.
  16. Dwyer Arce (August 11, 2010). "Mexico high court rules Mexico City same-sex marriages must be recognized nationwide". JURIST – Paper Chase.
  17. (in Spanish) PRD y Constituyente buscan garantizar matrimonio gay, eutanasia y uso de mariguana
  18. (in Spanish) Con 9 votos a favor 7 en contra se aprueba el #MatrimonioIgualitario en la Ciudad de México
  19. (in Spanish) Aprueban matrimonio civil igualitario en Constitución de CDMX
  20. "Constitución Política de la Ciudad de México" (PDF). infodf.org.mx (in Spanish).
  21. "Ihueytlanahuatil Mexihco Hueyaltepetl" (PDF). Government of Mexico City (in Nāhuatl).
  22. Barrionuevo, Alexei (15 July 2010). "Argentina Approves Gay Marriage, in a First for Region". The New York Times. Last year, Mexico City became the first jurisdiction in the region to legalize gay marriages... the city has married more than 270 couples
  23. "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish).
  24. (in Spanish) ESTADÍSTICAS BODAS GAY CIUDAD DE MÉXICO
  25. Mexico City approves gay marriage
  26. El Universal (27–30 November 2009). "Same-sex marriage poll in Mexico City" (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  27. (in Spanish) Encuesta nacional 2017, Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica
  28. "¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay?". El Sol de México (in Spanish). 15 April 2019.
  29. Agence France-Presse (21 December 2009). "Mexico City approves gay marriage". Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  30. Tracy Wilkinson (22 December 2009). "Mexico City approves gay marriage, adoption". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
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