Same-sex marriage is legalized everywhere in Mexico today
Today, the Mexican state of Tamaulipas voted to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the last state in the country to do so, thereby ensuring queer people living everywhere in Mexico now have equal access to marriage rights, despite their location. Just the day before, the second-to-last state – Guerrero – did the same.
In order for this to happen, the state’s Civil Code had to be amended. This was achieved with 23 votes in favor of marriage equality, and 12 against – 2 people made the choice to abstain.
Once the vote was official and announced, the President of the Supreme Court, Arturo Zaldivar, took to Twitter to release a comment on the news.
“The whole country shines with a huge rainbow. Live the dignity and rights of all the people. Love is love,” he tweeted.
This has been a long time coming for the queer community in Mexico. Back in 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that state laws prohibiting same-sex unions were unconstitutional. However, certain states, including Tamaulipas and Guerrero, dragged their feet on the issue and didn’t act quickly enough to amend their laws. Seven years later, the stragglers finally fell in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Argentina was the first country in Latin America to legalize marriage equality in 2010. Brazil and Uraguay followed soon after. Various other countries have joined the mix since then, including Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. The region has a ways to go in order to be considered an LGBTQ-friendly part of the world, but it’s clear that progress is certainly in effect.
The law change takes place tonight in Mexico and was met with cheers and shouts of “yes we can,” from those in support of the ruling. As early as tomorrow, queer folks in these last states in Mexico will be able to marry their partner, if they so desire.
Well done Mexico!
