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

Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...

since 12 June 2016. On 25 May 2016, a bill to legalise

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 ...

passed the

Congress of Colima The Congress of the State of Colima (aka Congress of Colima) is the legislative branch of the government of the State of Colima. The Congress of Colima is a unicameral legislature. The Congress consist of 25 local deputies (16 elected by the f ...

and was published as law in the state's official journal on 11 June. It came into effect the next day.

had previously recognized same-sex civil unions, but this "separate but equal" treatment of granting civil unions to same-sex couples and

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

to opposite-sex couples was declared discriminatory by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation in June 2015. Congress had passed a civil union bill in 2013 but repealed it in 2016 shortly before the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Civil unions

On 4 July 2013, the

approved an amendment to article 147 of the State Constitution to establish same-sex civil unions ( es, enlace conyugal, ). Within 30 days, seven of Colima's Municipalities of Colima, ten municipalities had approved the constitutional change. A group of citizens filed a lawsuit challenging the reform, arguing that providing only civil unions to same-sex couples and

to opposite-sex couples was discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. On 18 March 2015, a district court judge declared that "separate but equal treatment is discriminatory" and unconstitutional. The decision also stated that section 201 of the Civil Code, which defined gendered roles for men and women, was discriminatory and reiterated that adoption open to heterosexual married couples must also be open to same-sex couples. Shortly after the ruling, a local LGBT group announced it would help any couple who joined in a civil union to receive a marriage license. The state appealed the ruling, and on 17 June 2015 the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Mexican Supreme Court agreed that the "separate but equal" union laws violated the Constitution of Mexico. The state subsequently announced that it would repeal article 147 and pass a same-sex marriage law. On 5 May 2016, Congress unanimously repealed the civil union provisions. All unions performed before the repeal are recognized by the state and can be converted into marriage upon request.

Same-sex marriage

Background

On 22 January 2013, the civil registrar of Cuauhtémoc, Colima, Cuauhtémoc received a request for a marriage license from a same-sex couple. After a team of lawyers reviewed the petition, Mayor Indira Vizcaíno Silva granted the first marriage license to a same-sex couple in Colima on 27 February 2013. The Cuauhtémoc Municipality, Colima, municipality performed a second same-sex marriage (and the first lesbian union) on 25 March 2013. A third same-sex marriage in Cuauhtémoc was held on 4 April 2013 for a lesbian couple, and the registrar announced at the time that there were 20 to 30 additional marriages scheduled on the calendar. Vizcaíno Silva said in March 2013 that a local Opinion poll, survey had shown that eight out of ten residents supported the municipality's decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In June 2013, Judge Rosa Lilia Vargas Valle of the Second District Court ruled that the Colima Civil Code was unconstitutional in limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Constitutional ban

On 4 July 2013, alongside formalizing civil unions, the state Congress also approved an amendment to article 147 of the Colima Constitution defining marriage as the "union between a man and a woman", thus constitutionally banning same-sex marriage. Congress voted unanimously to repeal article 147 on 5 May 2016, ending civil unions and removing the same-sex marriage ban.

Legislative action

Following the Mexican Supreme Court's ruling on 17 June 2015 that a "separate but equal" treatment for same-sex couples is discriminatory and unconstitutional, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) submitted a same-sex marriage bill to Congress. The law would ensure that married same-sex couples enjoy the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as married opposite-sex couples, including Tax deduction, tax benefits, immigration rights, Right to property, property rights, inheritance, Same-sex adoption, adoption rights, etc. A vote on the legislation was scheduled for May 2016.Anula Congreso Enlaces Conyugales
The bill was approved on 25 May 2016 in a unanimous 24–0 vote. It was published in the state's official journal on 11 June, following Governor José Ignacio Peralta's signature, and came into effect the following day.

Statistics

The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Colima as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by ''Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica'' found that 47% of Colima residents supported same-sex marriage; another 47% were opposed. According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 39% of the Colima public opposed same-sex marriage.

References

External links

Text of the Colima same-sex marriage law
in Spanish {{DEFAULTSORT:Same-Sex Marriage in Colima Colima Same-sex marriage in Mexico by state, Colima 2016 in LGBT history