Mexico Approves Same-Sex Marriage Across The Country

According to the constitution, the battle is over.

On June 3, the Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico made history: the norms that used to ban same-sex marriages in the country have been declared unconstitutional in all the states across Mexico.

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Before June 13, the only jurisdictions that allowed same-sex marriage were Quintana Roo, Coahuila and the Federal District.

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The rest of the states have several norms in their own civil codes that establish that marriage aims at procreation.

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Now, based on the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice, states will no longer be able to resort to those norms to ban same-sex marriage.

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This law states that any ruling by a district that considers that marriage is only between a man and a woman aiming at procreation will be considered unconstitutional, according to the Supreme Court.

The ruling issued by the Supreme Court says that jurisdictions that only allow heterosexual marriage discriminates against LGBT people.

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"The direct effect of this ruling is that a single judge cannot put a ban on same-sex marriages."

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Professor Estefanía Vela Barba, responsible of the Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights department, part of the Health Rights program at CIDE, told BuzzFeed Mexico: "These couples will be able to get married in their state, regardless of their own state policy and whether it allows LGBT people to marry."

Still, the new ruling might face a few obstacles along the way.

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According to the National Survey about Discrimination in Mexico from 2010, 7 out of 10 LGBT people feel that their rights are not being respected, which brings up the question: Will states respect the Supreme Court ruling?

This ruling doesn't make all the state-dependent laws disappear.

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"Following this line of thought, it is possible that civil registries ask same-sex couples to submit paperwork, these registries might continue refusing to marry these people directly. In this scenario, couples will have to file an appeal for constitutional protection and here's where the Supreme Court ruling comes into play: all the judges are forced to protect the couples and demand the civil registry to marry them", Vela explained.

This ruling means a huge step forward for the rights of different identities.

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"The Court decision proves that local legislatures need to work on adapting their civil institutions in the same terms defined by the Supreme Court. Although this ruling helps all the couples in the country to have the same rights, it's necessary to adjust the local norms so that these rights can be complied with, without extra paperwork or obstacles," Professor Sergio Estrada Rojas, Headmaster of ITESM's Law School, told BuzzFeed Mexico.

According to the constitution, the battle has been won.

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"The right to no-discrimination is unambiguous: you cannot discriminate against people due to their sexual orientation. This can't happen in the family or at work or in any other context. The problem is, those who are opposed to equality are making the most out of any legal deficiency they find," Vela said.

Now the next step needs to be taken into consideration.

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Apart from adjusting the norms to local legislatures, Estrada said that the laws related to adoption by same-sex couples and the rights of transgender and transexual people are the next ones in line to be revised in a national level. "The core of all these challenges is the right not to discriminate and this must be translated in the protection of this population at school, work, in any social interaction, both private and public."

This post was translated from Spanish.

Jun. 18, 2015, at 22:23 PM

An original version of this post stated that the ruling was published on the 13th, not June 3.