Same-sex marriage in Puebla

On 7 December 2006, a civil union bill, similar to that of Mexico City, was proposed in Puebla, but it faced strong opposition and criticism from deputies of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN), which declared that "the traditional family is the only social model, and there cannot be another one."[7] The civil union bill was proposed again on 15 March 2011.[8] After five reviews in the ensuing years,[9] on 8 June 2014, the bill was postponed until a later session.[10] On 29 September 2014, Congress announced that there would be no discussion in that legislative term.[11]

Activists organized a march on 8 November 2014, urging the Congress of Puebla to legalize same-sex marriage.[12]

Congress rejected a civil union bill in December 2014.[13] The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which had supported the measure, announced its intention to re-introduce a similar bill in 2015.[14] On 11 June 2015, a PRD deputy submitted a marriage bill instead citing national court decisions in favor of same-sex marriage.[15][16] In June 2016, Congress announced it would postpone any vote on the legislation until the Mexican Supreme Court rules on the action of unconstitutionality filed in April 2016.[17]

In September 2016, officials in the municipality of San Pedro Cholula announced that any same-sex couple who wishes to marry in the municipality may do so without hindrance, citing nationwide jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court in favor of same-sex marriage.[18]

A decision of the Mexican Supreme Court on 12 June 2015 resulted in a ruling which found that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional nationwide. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate any state laws, meaning same-sex couples denied the right to wed would still have to seek individual injunctions (amparo) in court. The ruling standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughout Mexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages and made the approval mandatory.

An important recognition case was granted via injunction on 29 January 2014. A same-sex couple, married in 2012 in Mexico City, filed an injunction against the IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) after it refused to register one of the partners for spousal benefits. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the IMSS was required to recognize the marriage.[19]

On 15 October 2014, a collective injunction for 13 couples was filed. The injunction, supported by Equal Marriage Mexico, the Citizens Observatory of Sexual and Reproductive Rights and El Taller A.C., sought to have the state's same-sex marriage ban declared unconstitutional and allow the 13 couples in question to marry.[20][21][22] In March 2015, reports surfaced that a judge had ruled against the couples citing the requirement that they "prove their homosexuality". Activists slammed this as a delay tactic and appealed to the Mexican Supreme Court.[23] On 5 May 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional and discriminatory, and allowed the couples to marry.[24] On 1 June 2016, the First Chamber of the Mexican Supreme Court made a similar ruling in a case involving 15 couples.[25]

In November 2014, a federal court granted Guadalupe del Carmen Gómez Tetetla and Fabiola Lucero Méndeza an injunction to marry. The couple had filed for an injunction earlier that year after their request for a marriage license was rejected. The state appealed the decision. On 10 July 2015, the Appellate Court upheld the ruling in favor of the couple. Their wedding, which was the first same-sex marriage in the state of Puebla, took place on 1 August 2015.[26][27]

The Mexican Supreme Court (building pictured) invalidated Puebla's same-sex marriage ban in 2017, allowing for such marriages to be performed in the state.

On 27 April 2016, the National Human Rights Commission filed an action of unconstitutionality (acción de inconstitucionalidad; docketed 29/2016) against the state of Puebla, contesting the constitutionality of articles 294, 297 and 300 of the Civil Code. The Congress of Puebla had recently amended state family law but while doing so did not repeal the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The Commission took this opportunity to file the action of unconstitutionality.[28][29] Article 294 defined marriage as the union of "a man and a woman" and whose goal was "perpetuating the species", and article 297 similarly defined concubinage as between "a man and a woman". Article 300 required the "man and woman" to be at least 16 years of age. This lawsuit sought to fully legalize same-sex marriage in Puebla, similarly to what had happened in the states of Chiapas (in case 32/2016) and Jalisco (in case 28/2015).

On 1 August 2017, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the three articles in question violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico, holding that they were discriminatory and void.[1] In late January 2018, despite opposition from Congress, the Civil Registry announced that it would abide by the ruling and start processing marriage applications from same-sex couples.[30][31] The ruling came into effect once Congress was officially notified and upon publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on 16 February 2018.[5]

Puebla officials have confirmed that same-sex couples are allowed to adopt.[32]

In October 2018, Deputy María García Olmedo introduced a bill to Congress to codify same-sex marriage in the state's Civil Code.[33]

On 4 October 2019, a Congress commission voted against decriminalizing abortion and updating state law to reflect the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage. Legislators reaffirmed the then-current state law which read, "El matrimonio es un contrato civil, por el cual un sólo hombre y una sola mujer, se unen en sociedad para perpetuar la especie y ayudarse en la lucha por la existencia." ("Marriage is a civil contract, in which one man and one woman are united by society to perpetuate the species and help each other in the struggle for existence."). The move did not affect the status of same-sex marriage in Puebla, which remained legal and recognized.[34] Shortly following the vote, Deputy María García Olmedo from the Institutional Revolutionary Party filed a legal challenge with the Supreme Court, arguing that Congress' refusal to amend state law to recognize same-sex marriages in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling was unconstitutional.[35] García Olmedo also personally criticized deputies of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), who mostly voted for the measure, of "betrayal", as the party was elected on a platform supporting LGBT rights and same-sex marriage.

On 30 October 2020, a Congress commission voted 4–2 with 1 abstention in favor of a same-sex marriage bill introduced by Deputy Vianey García Romero.[36] On 3 November 2020, Congress approved the legislation 31–5.[37][38][39] The law was published in the official state journal, following Governor Miguel Barbosa Huerta's signature, on 10 November and took effect the following day.[40] Article 294 of the Civil Code now reads:

• in Spanish: El matrimonio es un contrato civil por el cual dos personas se unen voluntariamente en sociedad, para llevar una vida en común, con respeto, ayuda mutua e igualdad de derechos y obligaciones.
• (Marriage is a civil contract by which two people are united voluntarily by society, to build a life together, with respect, mutual assistance and equal rights and obligations.)

Political party	Members	Yes	No	Abstain	Absent
National Regeneration Movement	14	13			1
Institutional Revolutionary Party	5	5
Labor Party	5	4			1
National Action Party	4		4
Social Encounter Party	3	3
Party of the Democratic Revolution	2	2
Citizens' Movement	2			2
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico	1	1
New Alliance Party	1	1
Compromiso por Puebla	1			1
Independent	3	2	1
Total	41	31	5	3	2