Same-sex marriage in Zacatecas

A proposal for civil unions was submitted to the Congress of Zacatecas on 30 June 2011, but then stalled in the Commission on Public Security. The main sponsor of the bill said in 2013 that it was not prioritized.[3] It only gathered the support of one PRI MP, some independents and some PRD MPs, while it was rejected by PAN. It was again discussed in March 2014, but the majority did not approve the measure.[4]

As a reaction to the 2015 Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation's ruling on same-sex marriage (in which it ruled same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional), a member of PRD announced on 18 June 2015 that she would submit a bill to reform the state's Civil and Family codes to give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples. A spokeswoman for PAN immediately announced their resistance, claiming that the Supreme Court had erred in its ruling.[5] The bill was still pending in the Commission of Gender Equality of Congress by November 2017.[6]

The July 2018 elections resulted in MORENA, a pro-same-sex marriage party, winning a plurality of legislative seats in Zacatecas.[7] In late February 2019, a member of MORENA sponsored a new same-sex marriage bill,[8][9] of which she was hopeful the majority of Congress would agree on. Additionally, she labelled the current definition of marriage a violation of the constitutions of both Mexico and Zacatecas.[10] The National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED) also called on the state to legalize same-sex marriage.[11] On 14 August 2019, the state Congress rejected the bill to legalize same-sex marriage, in a 11-13 vote with 2 abstentions.[12]

On 14 February 2019, the capital city of Zacatecas announced it would begin issuing same-sex marriage certificates.[13][14] Governor Alejandro Tello Cristerna argued that the marriages were not valid and expressed his personal opposition to same-sex marriage, stating that authorities have to be "careful dealing with the topic".[15] He was joined by Bishop Sigifredo Noriega in his opposition, who nevertheless considered it necessary finding an alternative measure protecting same-sex couples without the "destruction of marriage".[16] Despite this, the first couple married on 23 February.[17] By 27 February, another couple had married, and five further couples had submitted marriage applications.[18] The municipality of Cuauhtémoc followed suit in legalizing same-sex marriage on 1 March,[19] and Villanueva on 20 May 2019.[20] By July 2020, Miguel Auza and Fresnillo were as well.[21][22]

Several same-sex couples have been allowed to legally marry in individual cases, through a process called recurso de amparo. Amparos are commonly known as "injunctions" in English.

The first injunction filed by a same-sex couple in the state was approved in May 2016.[23] On 3 April 2017, a female same-sex couple from Fresnillo gained an amparo allowing them to marry,[24] while another was granted to a male couple from the same city a few months later. They married in October 2017, in a private ceremony alongside family and friends.[25]

By January 2019, three same-sex couples had married via injunction in the municipality of Zacatecas.[26]