Same-sex marriage in Nayarit

In July 2014, a male couple was allowed to hold Nayarit's first same-sex wedding after a federal judge ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional.[1][2] The couple married in the state capital of Tepic.

In July 2014, four lesbian couples filed an injunction (amparo) against the Civil Registry in Tepic after it had rejected their requests for marriage licenses.[3] On 31 October 2014, LGBT group Asociación Civil de CODISE announced that nine couples were awaiting decisions on injunctions.[4] On 3 November 2014, a lesbian couple married in Tepic (the second same-sex marriage in the state),[5] and on 13 November the state's third same-sex marriage was held for a lesbian couple, who had gained an injunction to marry on 22 October.[6] The fourth same-sex marriage in Nayarit took place in the second week of December 2014, making it the third lesbian union in the state.[7] On 27 January 2015, the fifth same-sex marriage occurred in Tepic between two women. It was the first marriage in which the injunction had been approved by local authorities, rather than the federal district courts.[8][9]

On 13 March 2015, activists handed the Congress of Nayarit a bill to legalise same-sex marriage.[10]

On 25 June 2015, Deputy Luis Manuel Hernández Escobedo from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) introduced a new bill allowing same-sex couples to marry and making the definition of concubinage gender-neutral.[11] On 17 December 2015, Congress approved the bill 26–1 with 1 abstention.[12][13] The bill was published in the official state journal, following Governor Roberto Sandoval Castañeda's signature, on 22 December and took effect the following day.[14]

Article 135 of the Nayarit Civil Code now reads as follows:

• in Spanish: El matrimonio es un contrato civil, por el cual dos personas, se unen en sociedad para realizar vida en común, procurando entre ambos respeto, igualdad y ayuda mutua.
• (Marriage is a civil contract whereby two people unite to establish a life together, seeking respect, equality and mutual assistance.)

Article 136 now reads as follows:

• in Spanish: El concubinato es la unión de hecho entre dos personas, que realizan en forma continua, pública e ininterrumpida una vida en común de manera notoria y permanente, sin que medie vínculo matrimonial entre sí, o con terceras personas.
• (Concubinage is the de facto union between two people, who continuously, publicly and uninterruptedly build a life together in a clear and permanent way, without establishing a marital bond between themselves or with a third party.)

Political party[15]	Members	Yes	No	Abstain	Absent
Institutional Revolutionary Party	15	14			1
National Action Party	6	4		1	1
Party of the Democratic Revolution	5	5
Labor Party	2	2
Ecologist Green Party	2	1	1
Total	30	26	1	1	2

The same-sex marriage legislation does not address adoption rights for unmarried or married same-sex couples.[11]

In October 2016, a federal judge ruled that the daughter of a married lesbian couple must be registered with the surnames of both her mothers. The judge argued that denying the application for registration of the newborn violates the interests of the child and violates the right to identity (i.e. name, nationality and affiliation).[16] A few days later, the Civil Registry announced that it will continue to refuse to register both surnames of same-sex parents unless Congress changes the law or if more injunctions are granted by the courts.[17]

It was revealed in May 2018 that 8 same-sex couples were filing adoption applications.[18] According to a 2017 survey by CONAPRED, 44% of the Nayarit population supported adoption by same-sex couples.[19]

The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Nayarit since legalization in 2015, as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.[20]