Gay Marriage Is Now Legal In The Mexican State Of Chihuahua

Since June 12, 2015, same-sex marriages are legal in the northern mexican state of Chihuahua.

"El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz"

Scott Larsen

Last friday, June 12, 2015, Chihuahua became the fourth mexican state to perform and recognize same-sex marriages, after a ruling of the Supreme Court of Mexico, saying that limiting marriages only to heterosexual couples is discriminatory.

Since 2013, several same-sex couples have been allowed to marry in Chihuahua through some legal mechanisms like appealing the State Constitution and being given permission by a judge. Last year, only in Ciudad Juárez, fourteen couples were granted permission to marry, four of them in a single ceremony.

The first same-sex marriage in the state was held on November 15, 2013, in the capital city of Chihuahua. Three months later, on February 13, 2014, another couple got married in Ciudad Juárez. Since then, several couples asked for permission to marry but no action was taken.

But on June 11, 2015, César Duarte Jáquez, the governor of the state, announced that Chihuahua would no longer prevent same-sex marriages and that licenses would be available for everyone starting the next day.

Chihuahua now joins the states of Coahuila, Quintana Roo and the federal district of Mexico City, of the jurisdictions where same-sex marriages are performed. In the rest of the country, the civil unions performed in those states and Mexico City, are recognized, and in 22 other states, in individual cases, couples have been granted permission to get married.

Chihuahua is Mexico's largest state and is located in the northwestern part of the country. It shares the border with the U. S. states of Texas and New Mexico. According to it's most recent census from 2010, it has a population of 3.4 million, 1.3 of them only in Ciudad Juárez, its largest city.

"Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace".— Benito Juárez

Ethan Miller / Getty Images