Marriage Equality Comes To Mexico City - Lez Get Real

Marriage Equality Comes To Mexico City - Lez Get Real

Marriage Equality has arrived in Mexico City. By 39-20 with 5 abstentions, Mexico City became the first Latin American city or nation to legalize marriage between two people of the same sex. Currently, civil unions are permissible in the Mexican state of Coahuila, just south of Texas. Uruguay is the only full nation in Latin America to allow civil unions. Now that it has been passed, it is expected to be signed into law by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard. The next step according to Mexico City spokesperson Oscar Oliver is to take up legislation allowing gays and lesbians to adopt.

The move was widely denounced by the Roman Catholic Church and other conservative groups; however, the Leftist controlled legislature passed the legislation handily. The Democratic Revolutionary Party had already passed abortion rights and civil unions within the city. Marriage will no longer be considered a union of a man and a woman in the law codes, but rather “the free uniting of two people”. Lawmaker David Razu proposed the changes in order to grant the same rights to same-sex couples with regards to social security and other social services that are already held by heterosexuals.

The movement of many Catholic nations upon the issue of marriage equality has signaled the erosion of the Vatican’s power over many predominantly Catholic nations. Some twenty nations perform civil unions, and seven allow for full marriage equality. Currently, six American states offer same-sex marriage and another nine have civil unions or domestic partnerships