Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

has been legal in

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

since 17 September 2014, the

effective date An effective date or as of date is the date upon which something is considered to take effect, which may be a past, present or future date. This may be different from the date upon which the event occurs or is recorded. See also *Coming into f ...

of legislation passed on 1 September 2014. Prior to the law's passage,

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

s for same-sex couples were legal, but not

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. The passage of the same-sex marriage bill made

the second jurisdiction in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, and the first state (as

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

is not a state), to pass same-sex marriage via legislative means. Only

and the state of

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

allowed for same-sex marriage prior to Coahuila.

Civil unions

Discussion on the legalization of same-sex

s in Coahuila started as early as November 2006, simultaneously with the discussion then ongoing in Mexico City. On 11 January 2007, in a 20–13 vote, the

Congress of Coahuila The Congress of Coahuila is the state legislature of Coahuila, a state of Mexico. The Congress is unicameral. The Congress has 25 members: 16 elected in single-member districts via first-past-the-post voting and 9 elected via proportional represen ...

voted to legalize same-sex civil unions under the name (PCS, ), which gave

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

and

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Of ...

rights to

same-sex couple A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. '' Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

s; similar to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

civil solidarity pact In France, a civil solidarity pact (french: pacte civil de solidarité), commonly known as a ''PACS'' (), is a contractual form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less s ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

's registered life partnership. This made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico after

to recognize same-sex unions. "The PCS represented a sensible response to the existence of

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

s who traditionally have been victims of discrimination,

humiliation Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...

and

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

. This does not have to do with

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...

. It has to do with

legality Legality, in respect of an act, agreement, or contract is the state of being consistent with the law or of being lawful or unlawful in a given jurisdiction, and the construct of power. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, legality is 1 : ...

. As

human being Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedality, bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex Human brain, brain. This has enabled the development of ad ...

s, 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 The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

(PRI), whose members voted for the law. Deputy Luis Alberto Mendoza, of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which opposed the law, said it was an "attack against the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, which is

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

's natural group and is formed by a man and a woman." Other than that, the PCS drew little opposition.

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

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." 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. 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 Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

. Between 2007 and 2013, 426 same-sex couples had entered into a PCS, and 36 of them had been annulled.

Same-sex marriage

On 5 March 2013, Congressman Samuel Acevedo Flores from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

introduced bills to the

to legalize same-sex marriages and adoption by same-sex couples. On 11 February 2014, the Congress approved the adoption bill with a vote of 23 in favor and two against; however, debate on same-sex marriage continued. On 8 August 2014, the Congress again began discussions regarding same-sex marriage. The bill passed on 1 September 2014, making Coahuila the second district to reform its Civil Code and the third jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage after Mexico City and

. The law took effect on 17 September 2014, following Governor

Rubén Moreira Valdez Rubén Ignacio Moreira Valdez (b. Saltillo, Coahuila, April 18, 1963) is a Mexican politician. He has a degree in Law from the Autonomous University of Coahuila (UAdeC) and in Social Sciences from the Superior Normal School of his state. He h ...

's signature. The first couple to marry were Jesus Fernando Covarrubias Monsivais and Luis Alberto Reyes Soto in Saltillo on 20 September. Article 139 of the Family Code now reads: *in Spanish: *(''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.'')

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 The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Stat ...

. 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.

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by found that 44% of Coahuila residents supported same-sex marriage, while 52% were opposed. According to a 2018 survey by the

, 47% of the Coahuila public opposed same-sex marriage.#Data , ¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay?

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Same-Sex Marriage in Coahuila Coahuila

2014 in LGBT history