Same-sex marriage in Coahuila

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Coahuila since 17 September 2014, the effective date of legislation passed on 1 September 2014. Prior to the law's passage, civil unions for same-sex couples were legal, but not same-sex marriage. The passage of the same-sex marriage bill made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico, and the first state (as Mexico City is not a state), to pass same-sex marriage via legislative means. Only Mexico City and the state of Quintana Roo allowed for same-sex marriage prior to Coahuila.

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Marriage
Civil unions and
registered partnerships
Common-law marriage
Minimal recognition
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Notes
  1. Performed in the Netherlands proper, including the Caribbean Netherlands. Registered in Aruba, Curaçao and 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. Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. Cohabitation. Registered foreign marriages confer limited rights. Marriage recognized in some cities.
  6. 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. All EU member states except Romania follow the ruling.
  7. Residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  8. Unregistered cohabitation or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  9. Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, though not legally formalized.
  10. Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  11. Foreign same-sex spouses are eligible for a "Non-Tourist Visa" as a dependent.
  12. Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status
* Not yet in effect
LGBT portal

Civil unions

Discussion on the legalization of same-sex civil unions in Coahuila started as early as November 2006, simultaneously with the discussion then ongoing in Mexico City.[1] On 11 January 2007, in a 20–13 vote, the Congress of Coahuila voted to legalize same-sex civil unions under the name pacto civil de solidaridad (PCS, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpaɣto siˈβil de soliðaɾiˈðað]), which gave property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples; similar to France's civil solidarity pact and Germany's registered life partnership.[2][3] This made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico after Mexico City to recognize same-sex unions.

Political party Members Yes No Abstain Absent
Institutional Revolutionary Party 20 19 1
National Action Party 9 9
Party of the Democratic Revolution 2 1 1
Democratic Unity of Coahuila 2 2
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico 1 1
Labor Party 1 1
Total 35 20 13 2

"The PCS represented a sensible response to the existence of citizens who traditionally have been victims of discrimination, humiliation and abuse. This does not have to do with morality. It has to do with legality. As human beings, we have to protect them as they are. It has to do with civil liberty," said Congresswoman Julieta López Fuentes from the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose members voted for the law.[3] Deputy Luis Alberto Mendoza, of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which opposed the law, said it was an "attack against the family, which is society's natural group and is formed by a man and a woman."[3] Other than that, the PCS drew little opposition. Bishop Raúl Vera, who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saltillo, declined to condemn the law. While Vera insisted that "two women or two men cannot get married," he also saw gay people as a vulnerable minority. "Today we live in a society that is composed in a different way. There are people who do not want to marry under the law or in the church. They need legal protection. I should not abandon these people."[2] Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live in the country.[2] Twenty days after the law had passed, the country's first same-sex civil union took place in Saltillo. It was between 29-year-olds Karina Almaguer and Karla Lopez, a lesbian couple from Tamaulipas.[4] Between 2007 and 2013, 426 same-sex couples had entered into a PCS, and 36 of them had been annulled.[5][6]

Same-sex marriage

On 5 March 2013, Congressman Samuel Acevedo Flores from the Social Democratic Party introduced bills to the Congress of Coahuila to legalize same-sex marriages and adoption by same-sex couples.[7] On 11 February 2014, the Congress approved the adoption bill with a vote of 23 in favor and two against;[8] however, debate on same-sex marriage continued. On 8 August 2014, the Congress again began discussions regarding same-sex marriage.[9] The bill passed on 1 September 2014, making Coahuila the second jurisdiction to reform its laws and the third jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage after Mexico City and Quintana Roo.[10] The law took effect on 17 September 2014,[11] following Governor Rubén Moreira Valdez's signature. The first couple to marry were Jesus Fernando Covarrubias Monsivais and Luis Alberto Reyes Soto in Saltillo on 20 September.[12] Article 139 of the Family Code now reads:

  • in Spanish: El matrimonio es la unión de dos personas que consienten en realizar una comunidad de vida basada en el afecto, respeto, igualdad de trato y ayuda mutua, y toman de manera libre, responsable, voluntaria e informada, las decisiones reproductivas que se ajustan a su proyecto de vida, incluida la posibilidad de procrear o adoptar.
  • (Marriage is the union of two people who consent to carry out a community of life based on affection, respect, equal treatment and mutual aid, and freely, responsibly, voluntarily and informally take reproductive decisions in accordance with their life project, including the possibility of procreation and adoption.)
Political party[13] Members Yes No Abstain Absent
Institutional Revolutionary Party 15 12 3
National Action Party 2 2
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico 2 1 1
New Alliance Party 2 2
Coahuila First Party 2 1 1
Social Democratic Party 1 1
Democratic Unity of Coahuila 1 1
Total 25 19 1 5

Statistics

The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila since legalization in 2014 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.[14] Data published in August 2018 showed that about half of the same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila involved a partner from another state or country.[15]

Number of marriages performed in Coahuila
Year Same-sex Opposite-sex Total  % same-sex
Female Male Total
201442266816,98717,0550.40%
20151086116916,99717,1660.98%
20161118219315,31515,5081.24%
20171125316514,91715,0821.09%
201820510230714,56414,8712.06%
2019976115814,82414,9821.05%
202046317711,74011,8170.65%
2021684511314,75914,8720.76%

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 44% of Coahuila residents supported same-sex marriage, while 52% were opposed.[16]

According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 47% of the Coahuila public opposed same-sex marriage.[17]

See also

References
  1. BBC News (10 November 2006). "Mexico City passes gay union law". Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  2. S. Lynne Walker (5 March 2007). "New law propels gay rights in Mexico". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  3. "Mexican state approves gay civil unions". Mail & Guardian. 13 January 2007. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  4. "Mexico's first civil union". Gay.com UK & Ireland. Associated Press. 1 February 2007. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  5. Karla Garza (17 January 2010). "Decaen pactos de convivencia en Coahuila" (in Spanish). Vanguardia. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  6. "Cae 50% pactos civiles de solidaridad". Milenio (in Spanish). 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  7. "Congreso de Coahuila inicia discusión sobre matrimonio gay". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  8. "Aprueban adopción gay en Coahuila". 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  9. "Congreso en discusión del matrimonio homosexual en Coahuila". Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  10. "Aprueban matrimonios gay en Coahuila". Vangardia.com.mx. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  11. "Legales desde hoy matrimonios entre homosexuales en Coahuila". Vanguardia. 17 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  12. "First Gay Couple Marries in Coahuila, Mexico". On Top Magazine. 21 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  13. Hilda Hernández (1 September 2014). "Aprueba Congreso local bodas gays en Coahuila" (in Spanish). El Universal. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  14. "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  15. (in Spanish) Acaparan foráneos 50% de bodas gay, entre discriminación de mayoría en Coahuila Archived 22 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  16. (in Spanish) Encuesta nacional 2017 Archived 19 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica
  17. (in Spanish) #Data | ¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay? Archived 16 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
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