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Same-sex marriage in Yucatán

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Part of the LGBTQ rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. ^ a b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d e The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. ^ Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
  1. ^ a b Not yet in effect.
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Same-sex marriage in Yucatán has been legal since 4 March 2022. On 25 August 2021, the Congress of Yucatán removed a constitutional ban on allowing same-sex couples to marry. The new law entered into force on 7 September 2021.[1] Congress had 180 days (i.e. until 6 March 2022) to change statutory law to accommodate same-sex marriage, and did so unanimously on 1 March. The law took effect two days later, and made Yucatán the 25th Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Constitutional restrictions

On 21 July 2009, the Congress of Yucatán overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in a 24–1 vote. The law, promoted by the right-wing organization Pro Yucatán Network, raised heterosexual marriage and families to the constitutional level. Specifically, Article 94 was amended to read that marriage is "the union of a man and a woman". This was widely seen as an attempt to reject all efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in the state, as any attempts to permit same-sex marriage in the future would likewise require a constitutional amendment and a two-thirds majority in Congress. Politicians from the conservative National Action Party (PAN) justified the ban, alleging that "there still aren't adequate conditions within Yucatán society to allow for unions between people of the same sex".[2] The event led to protests outside the local Congress by LGBT organizations.[3]

Political party Members Yes No
Institutional Revolutionary Party 14 14
National Action Party 9 9
Party of the Democratic Revolution 1 1
Labor Party / Convergence 1 1
Total 25 24 1

Yucatán had been one of only three Mexican states to enact a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage; the others being Baja California,[4] and Colima.[5] As of September 2021, all three of these bans have been repealed.

Legalisation efforts

Equality of same-sex marriage in Mexican states
  Legal equality of marriages of same-sex and opposite-sex couples
  Marriage licenses are issued to same-sex couples despite not being allowed under state law; they may take more time to process or be more expensive than licenses for opposite-sex couples
  Inequality of marriage: married same-sex couples do not qualify as married when it comes to the adoption of children

On 24 May 2016, a prominent member of the state Congress said that Yucatán would wait for the federal Congress of the Union to legislate on same-sex marriage before taking the necessary steps to amend local laws.[6]

On 15 August 2018, Governor Rolando Zapata Bello introduced bills to amend the state Constitution and Family Code to legalize same-sex marriage.[7][8] On 10 April 2019, the state Congress rejected the bill in a 9–15 vote.[9] In response to the failure to pass the legislation, the 17th Pride Parade in Mérida saw the unprecedented participation of around 8,000 people.[10][11] A second attempt at legalizing same-sex marriage failed on 15 July 2019, again with 15 votes against and 9 votes in favor.[12][13]

In both cases, the state Congress voted against same-sex marriage in a secret vote, without the public being able to have knowledge of the votes cast by their representatives. This was controversial, and several activists from the Collective for the Protection of All Families of Yucatán (Colectivo de Protección de Todas las Familias de Yucatán) and other advocacy groups filed a legal challenge with the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation arguing that this was unconstitutional. On 18 August 2021, the Supreme Court ordered an "open and transparent" re-vote in Congress.[14] Two months earlier, a federal court in Sinaloa had ordered that state's Congress to legalize same-sex marriage with any legislators voting against to be found in contempt of court and unable to run for or hold office for seven years. Fearful that lawmakers in Yucatán could face similar charges, the state Congress was widely expected to approve a same-sex marriage bill in the coming days.[15]

Legislation to remove the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was sponsored by deputies Milagros Romero Bastarrachea and Silvia López Scoffie. It was approved unanimously by a Congress committee,[16] and a plenary vote was scheduled for Wednesday, 25 August 2021. Congress passed the bill on a 20–5 vote on 25 August, reaching the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution.[17][18][19][20] Deputy Karla Franco Blanco said that the passage of the bill "is in line with the fundamental principle that every individual has the right to enjoy freedoms, equal rights and protection from discrimination, as provided by the Political Constitution of [Mexico]." The law was published in the state's official gazette on 6 September 2021, and took effect the following day.[21] Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal praised the vote.[22]

Article 94 of the Constitution of Yucatán was amended as follows:[23]

  • in Spanish. El matrimonio es una institución por medio del cual se establece la unión jurídica de dos personas, con igualdad de derechos, deberes y obligaciones, con la posibilidad de generar la reproducción humana de manera libre, responsable e informada.
  • (Marriage is an institution establishing the legal union of two persons, with equal rights, duties and obligations, with the possibility of generating human reproduction in a free, responsible and informed manner.)

Provisions relating to concubinage were also amended:

  • in Spanish: El concubinato es la unión de dos personas, quienes libres de matrimonio, viven como esposos y pueden generar una familia, en los términos que fije la ley.
  • (Concubinage is the union of two people who, free from marriage, live as spouses and create a family, under the terms established by law.)
Political party Members Yes No Abstain
Institutional Revolutionary Party 10 8 2
National Action Party 6 3 3
National Regeneration Movement 4 4
Citizens' Movement 2 2
Party of the Democratic Revolution 1 1
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico 1 1
New Alliance Party 1 1
Total 25 20 5 0

Although Congress modified the Constitution to recognize same-sex marriages, it has yet to amend the state's Family Code. Milagros Romero Bastarrachea, deputy for Citizens' Movement and one of the proponents of the bill, said in an interview with the media following the vote that the state will amend all secondary laws within 180 days of the bill's publication (i.e. by 6 March 2022).[24][a] A bill to reform the secondary laws to legalize same-sex marriage was introduced to Congress on 15 December 2021 by Deputy Vila Goméz Herrera.[25] It was approved unanimously by a Congress committee on 26 February,[26] and by a 25–0 vote by the full Congress on 1 March 2022.[27] The law was published in the official gazette on 3 March, and took effect the following day.

Political party Members Yes No Abstain
National Action Party 14 14
National Regeneration Movement 4 4
Institutional Revolutionary Party 3 3
Citizens' Movement 1 1
Party of the Democratic Revolution 1 1
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico 1 1
New Alliance Party 1 1
Total 25 25 0 0

In public discourse, same-sex marriage is commonly known as matrimonio igualitario or matrimonio para todos in Spanish, and as ts'o'okol beel tia'al tuláakal in Yucatec Maya.[b] The latter two meaning "marriage for all".

The XVII Marcha de la Diversidad Sexual Mérida, 8 June 2019
See also: Same-sex marriage in Mexico § México Igualitario Project

The Mexican Supreme Court ruled on 12 June 2015 that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional nationwide. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate state laws, meaning that same-sex couples denied the right to marry 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.[28]

On 26 March 2013, a male couple, Ricardo Arturo Góngora and Javier Alberto Carrillo Esquivel, went to the civil registry office in Mérida to marry. The civil registry rejected the bid arguing that the State Constitution defined marriage as the "union of a man and a woman" and that same-sex couples were therefore unable to legally marry. The couple appealed the decision, and on 1 July the Third District Court recognized that they had the right to marry. The government announced it would not appeal the court ruling,[29] and the couple became the first same-sex couple to marry in Yucatán, on 8 August 2013.[30]

Following the first same-sex marriage in the state, six more couples, four male and two female, applied for marriage licenses on 14 August 2013. They filed individual amparos in court, with 3 of them being approved on 4 and 15 November and 17 December 2013 by the courts in the First, Fourth and Third District, respectively. Both of the lesbian couples and one male couple were granted the right to marry.[31] On 6 January 2014, the first lesbian marriage in Yucatán took place in Mérida.[32] The second lesbian couple married on 25 January,[33][34] and the male couple were married in Mérida on 18 February 2014.[35]

On 17 May 2014, a group of civil society organizations filed suit with the Constitutional Court of Yucatán, claiming that 10 injunctions had been approved in the state in the previous months, but the state Congress still refused to amend state laws to permit same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs asked that article 49 of the Family Code and Article 94 of the Constitution, which limited marriage to one man and one woman, be "considered in the broadest sense and that the gender of its members be undefined."[36] On 26 February 2015, the court announced that it would decide on 2 March whether the state ban on same-sex marriage was in violation of the Constitution of Mexico and international agreements.[37] Instead, on 2 March the court dismissed the challenge. Activists vowed to appeal the decision.[38] They filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in June 2015. The activists argued that the ban was unconstitutional as the Mexican Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[39] After postponing a hearing five times, the Mexican Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit on 31 May 2017.[40]

From January 2017 to March 2017, 15 same-sex couples married in Yucatán via the amparo process, compared to 16 couples who married in all of 2016.[41]

Public opinion

According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 43% of the Yucatán public opposed same-sex marriage.[42]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Page 8 of decree 413/2021 published in the official gazette on 6 September 2021:[21] El Congreso del Estado de Yucatán, en un plazo no mayor a 180 días naturales contados a partir de la entrada en vigor de este decreto, deberá realizar las adecuaciones a la legislación secundaria que correspondan.
  2. ^ Spanish pronunciation: [matɾiˈmonjo iɣwaliˈtaɾjo], [matɾiˈmonjo ˈpaɾa ˈtodos]; Mayan pronunciation: [ˈtzʼó̰ːkol ɓèːl tiˈá̰ːl tuˈláːkal]

References

  1. ^ "Yucatán: Ya es legal el matrimonio igualitario; publican decreto oficial | Marcrix Noticias" (in Spanish). 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  2. ^ Jennifer Woodard Maderazo (22 July 2009). "Yucatan Will Penalize Gay Marriage, Abortion". Vivir Latino. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  3. ^ Anodis (21 July 2009). "Aprueba Yucatán ley contra matrimonio gay" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Baja California Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage In Third Attempt". kyma.com. 16 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Congreso de Colima avala los matrimonios gay en medio de protestas". Proceso (in Spanish). 25 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Yucatán esperará a que el Congreso federal legisle". Puntomedio (in Spanish). May 24, 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Yucatán's governor sends marriage equality bill to legislature". Yucatán Expat Life. 17 August 2018.
  8. ^ "ORDEN DEL DÍA DE LA SESIÓN DE LA DIPUTACIÓN PERMANENTE MIÉRCOLES 15 DE AGOSTO DEL AÑO 2018" (PDF).
  9. ^ "Congreso de Yucatán no aprueba el matrimonio igualitario | La Jornada Maya". www.lajornadamaya.mx.
  10. ^ Rejón, Katia (9 June 2019). "Gran concurrencia en Marcha de la Diversidad Sexual de Mérida" [Great occurrence of the March of Sexual Diversity in Mérida]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  11. ^ Manrique, José (9 June 2019). "Comunidad LGTB mostró ayer su poder de convocatoria" [Yesterday the LGBT Community demonstrated its power to convene]. Por Esto! (in Spanish). Mérida, Mexico. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  12. ^ Ricalde, Jesús (15 July 2019). "Vuelven a rechazar matrimonio igualitario en Yucatán". Informador QR (in Spanish).
  13. ^ "Yucatan legislature again rejects law allowing same-sex marriage". Yucatán Magazine. 15 July 2019.
  14. ^ "El Supremo mexicano ordena a Yucatán repetir la votación sobre matrimonio gay". swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). 18 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Poder Judicial ordena al Congreso de Sinaloa aprobar el matrimonio igualitario". Noroeste (in Spanish). 13 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Congreso de Yucatán aprueba matrimonio igualitario en comisiones". PorEsto! (in Spanish). 16 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Equal marriage was finally approved in Yucatan". Yucatán Times. 26 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Aprueban matrimonio igualitario en Yucatán". La Jornada (in Spanish). 25 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Le LXII Legislatura tu aprobartaj le Matrimonio Igualitario ti'al u lu'umil Yucatán". Congreso del Estado de Yucatán (in Yucatec Maya). 25 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  20. ^ "Yucatán aprueba el matrimonio igualitario con una amplia mayoría". El País (in Spanish). 26 August 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Decreto 413/2021" (PDF). www.yucatan.gob.mx (in Spanish).
  22. ^ "Mauricio Vila Llama a respetar la decisión del Congreso sobre el matrimonio igualitario". PorEsto! (in Spanish). 25 August 2021.
  23. ^ "La Jornada Maya" (in Spanish). 25 August 2021.
  24. ^ "En espera de que publiquen cambio". Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). 27 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Matrimonio igualitario en Yucatán, 'tema prioritario' durante segundo periodo del Congreso". Poresto (in Spanish). 16 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Aprueban en Comisión Dictanen en Materia de Matrimonio Igualitario". Yucatán Ahora! (in Spanish). 26 February 2022.
  27. ^ "Reforma al matrimonio igualitario en Yucatán en adelantada sesión por día inhábil". Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). 25 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Mexico supreme court says state laws limiting marriage to man and woman unconstitutional". Minneapolis Star Tribune. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015.
  29. ^ "Preparan primera boda gay en Yucatán; gobierno no impugnará". Proceso (in Spanish). 15 July 2013.
  30. ^ "Celebran primer matrimonio gay en Yucatán". CONAPRED (in Spanish). 11 August 2013.
  31. ^ "Avanza reconocimiento de matrimonio homosexual en Yucatán". 2013-12-19. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  32. ^ "Libertad de Expresión Yucatán: Celebran primera boda entre dos mujeres en Yucatán". informaciondelonuevo.com.
  33. ^ "Tras amparo, se realizará segundo Matrimonio Igualitario en Yucatán". Midopen (in Spanish). December 27, 2013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  34. ^ "Libertad de Expresión Yucatán: Celebran tercera boda gay en Yucatán". informaciondelonuevo.com.
  35. ^ "4 "bodas gays" en Yucatán y contando". SDPnoticias.com.
  36. ^ "Denuncia contra Congreso de Yucatán abre la puerta a matrimonios gay". Animal Político. 17 May 2014.
  37. ^ "Bajo análisis una demanda en contra del Congreso estatal – El Diario de Yucatán". El Diario de Yucatán. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27.
  38. ^ Castrillón, Luis (2 March 2015). "El Tribunal de Yucatán rechaza que Congreso estatal legisle sobre matrimonios gay". Animal Político. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  39. ^ "Organizaciones civiles demandan a tribunal de Yucatán por obstaculizar el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo". Animal Político. 14 June 2015.
  40. ^ "Indignación | La Suprema Corte en retroceso de sus propios criterios sobre las Omisiones Legislativas en los Estados y el Matrimonio Igualitario". redtdt.org.mx. June 2017.
  41. ^ "Permiten amparos 15 bodas gay en lo que va del año". Tribuna Campeche. 17 March 2017.
  42. ^ (in Spanish) #Data | ¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay?
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