Same-sex marriage in Tlaxcala

In February 2014, Deputy Eréndira Montiel Jiménez from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) promised to introduce a partnership bill to the Congress of Tlaxcala.[1] The proposed legislation, introduced on 3 April 2014, outlined the legal framework for a form of coexistence "that has the purpose of marriage or concubinage".[2]

On 29 December 2016, Congress approved the coexistence bill by 18 votes to 4. Two deputies from the National Action Party (PAN) walked out in protest as the voting took place. The bill established an institution called sociedad de convivencia solidaria, which provides cohabiting same-sex and opposite-sex couples with many of the same rights and obligations as marriage.[3][4] The law was published in the official state journal, following Governor Marco Antonio Mena Rodríguez's signature, on 11 January 2017 and took effect the following day.[5]

A bill was presented to the Congress of Tlaxcala on 2 October 2009 to legalize same-sex marriage.[6] The initiative was blocked by state lawmakers in 2010,[7] and the state, along with officials from Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos and Sonora, filed a formal court challenge to the passage of a same-sex marriage law in Mexico City.[8] In June 2011, activists questioned why no action had been taken on the bill and were told that it was still "climbing the roster."[9][10]

Deputy María Antonieta Stankiewicz Ramírez from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) announced that a same-sex marriage bill would be debated in a Congress committee sometime in July 2016, though no vote happened.[11] On 13 October 2017, the New Alliance Party introduced a new same-sex marriage bill to Congress.[12]

The July 2018 elections resulted in the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) and the Labor Party, pro-same-sex marriage parties, winning the majority of legislative seats in Congress.[13] In October 2018, Deputy Miguel Ángel Covarrubias Cervantes from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) introduced a same-sex marriage bill to Congress.[14] The legislation was approved by a 16–3 vote on 8 December 2020,[15] published in the official state journal on 24 December, following the signature of Governor Marco Antonio Mena Rodríguez, and took effect the following day.[16][17]

The law amended article 42 of the Civil Code to read:[18]

• in Spanish: El matrimonio es la unión de dos personas con su pleno consentimiento, que tiene como objeto realizar la comunidad de vida, en donde ambas se procuran respeto, igualdad y ayuda mutua. Debe celebrarse ante los funcionarios que establece la ley y con todas las solemnidades que ella exige.
• (Marriage is the union of two people with their full consent, whose objective is achieving a life together, where both partners seek respect, equality and mutual assistance. Marriages must be celebrated by the officials established by law and with all the solemnities that it requires.)

Political party	Members	Yes	No	Abstain	Absent
National Regeneration Movement	12	8			4
Labor Party	3	2			1
National Action Party	2	1	1
Social Encounter Party	2		2
Party of the Democratic Revolution	2	2
Institutional Revolutionary Party	1	1
Citizens' Movement	1	1
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico	1				1
New Alliance Party	1	1
Total	25	16	3	0	6

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.

In late June 2015, 15 same-sex couples applied for marriage certificates at civil registries in the state, but all were rejected. With the help of the State Human Rights Commission, they filed for injunctions in court.[19] On 27 November 2015, a federal court granted an injunction to one of the couples. Their marriage, which was the first same-sex marriage in Tlaxcala, took place on 18 January 2016. The injunction was only granted after the Commission had interceded on their behalf.[20]