Mexico’s Supreme Court has effectively legalized same-sex marriage after finding that state laws restricting marriage only to heterosexual couples were discriminatory.
“When I heard the judge pronounce us legally married, I burst into tears,” Hiram Gonzalez told The New York Times. Gonzalez married his boyfriend, Severiano Chavez, last year in the state of Chihuahua after acquiring a special injunction. Like most of Mexico’s 31 states, Chihuahua had banned same-sex marriage, but Mexico’s Supreme Court has been slowly knocking down those laws while circumventing state legislatures.
Since Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage in 2009, over 5,000 couples have wed in the capital. In 2010, the Supreme Court upheld Mexico City’s law, also authorizing other states to recognize marriages performed there. Then this month the Supreme Court went a step further, decreeing state laws banning gay marriage discriminatory.
According to the ruling:
As the purpose of matrimony is not procreation, there is no justified reason that the matrimonial union be heterosexual, nor that it be stated as between only a man and only a woman. Such a statement turns out to be discriminatory in its mere expression.
This, however, is not the be all, end all in the fight for marriage equality. The ruling doesn’t automatically strike down state marriage laws, but rather allows gay couples denied marriage in their state to seek injunctions from district judges, who are now obligated to grant them. Lawyers will then attempt to compile enough injunctions for the court to formally order state legislatures to lift their bans.
While it’s a long and complicated process, for Gonzalez and Chavez, it’s “not just the legal battle” but “a fight for your dignity.”
With Mexico to the south of us and Canada to the north, the U.S. is now flanked by same-sex marriage on the countdown to equality. So it’s only a matter of time before North America is the gayest continent on the planet. Sorryboutit, Europe.
Les Fabian Brathwaite — vamos a casarnos down Mexican way.
Reniel N' Michael
But are their taco shops threatening not to cater any gay weddings?
Geoff Prince
Hooray for Mexico. Felicitacions
Mykle Eli
…..and the US in between two north american countries that now have full marriage equality.
Jim Van Matre
….kinda
Londale Foster
Awesome!
Rodrigo Salinas
Wait, what? No! Marriage is not legalized, if the couple decides to begin a legal battle they will be granted marriage, but it’s not like I can go to any court and marry whoever I please.
The title is misleading…
Aldo Miguel
Nop its not true, we can have same sex marries in a few states even only in a few cities, but its not call it marriage its a “Convivence society” and the members of this society dosnt have legal rights as social security, adoption and others
Tony Rolston
Peter Conforti Viva Mexico!
Hadrian Nava Embalsado
Tristan, what do you think of Mexico now?
Jordan Walker
Eric Erlemann wuuut
James Greenhill
And Australia slips further behind the rest of the world
Roberto Y Enzo Hoggelini
Yahoooooo felicitaciones México!!!!!
Huw Forsey
Good timing. I’m on my way there now lol
Shea Morris
Well that title is misleading!!
Greg Morris
“As the purpose of matrimony is not procreation, there is no justified reason that the matrimonial union be heterosexual, nor that it be stated as between only a man and only a woman. Such a statement turns out to be discriminatory in its mere expression.” simply and perfectly said.
Oliverspawn Juan
It’s true, now in all states is legal!
Chris Keller
Vanessa Cisneros
Zekester
Don’t forget that every country south of Mexico, down to Panama, is on our continent. We still have a lot of work to do.
Lance Cardinal
At come thing big think feast, more think good age me, fall thing peoples well not mind not me thing fight feel I seen think was ask are use you exe- I this for a me through Qiuz?
1EqualityUSA
The whole world must recognize our innate identity.
Sweetie Pie
Mexico and the US may legalise gay marriage, but it doesn`t mean that hose two countries will be friendlier than most of Western Europe countries…I suspect the writer of this article lives under a rock at the bottom of the Mississippi river and has no clue about all the anti-gay legislation being passed in sevreral American states and hate crimes against LGBT people in the US and Mexico
Sorry, Queerty…try again
Kangol
Felicidades, México!
James Wilbanks
Congratulations !! Now our government is going to make some two faced ruling and again become a laughing stock of the free worlds ! Instead of just saying EVERYONE has the right to marry !!
Daniel El Chino Alatriste
Good job morons…pretty soon getting married its gonna be too gay
Ismael Smiley Flores
Finalmente!
Adam Longwell
i can not stand a hater
SteveDenver
The United States is surrounded by equal marriage, will religious nonsense be able to hold out? C’mon SCOTUS, the spotlight is on YOU.
Ross McKenzie
Javier Castaneda
David Andrew Roubideaux
Awesomeness! I wish the best all couples getting married! :)’s & THANK YOU GOD for making our dream come true! :)’s
glennmcbride
This does not mean that same sexy couples can suddenly be able to marry in all states. This is the 5th time that the Supreme Court has had the UNANIMOUS ruling. When the Supreme court finds the same in 5 similar cases – it becomes jurisprudence, which means that all lower courts must have the same finding. Same sex couples cannot go to the Civil Registry of any state and marry – they must first be refused and then they can go to a Federal District Court and seek an Amparo which is to protect them from illegal acts of the authority. They can then take this order to a civil registry and be married. The cost? Between 3,000 and 15,000 US dollars. The state legislatures must now begin the process of revising their Civil Codes. All same sex couples can marry in Mexico, if they have the resources to promote an Amparo. They can also marry outside of Mexico and register their marriages with a Mexican Consulate. In Mexico, only the Civil Registry can marry anyone – Religious ceremonies have no legal effect. to be married in a Church you must first be married at the Civil Registry.
Dean Kirschmann
I guess Mexico has less Christian terrorists than America
jaleoman
@Reniel N’ Michael: ..Tacos shop? Mexico
Have so many great dishes besides Tacos, talking about
Ignorance and prejudice.
Tony Hughes
Taco taco burrito burrito :3
Giancarlo85
@Reniel N’ Michael: Ignorant hillbilly.
Anyways, this is good news but Mexico still has work to do.
Chris
@Greg Morris: Agreed; that statement is artistic in its simplicity.
Kevin J Desmond
Mexico is starting to sound a lot better than the U.S. these days
aidanbh
When the US finally grows up and joins the rest of the Western world, it will, of course, be “following suit”, rather than leading the charge. This will, naturally, not interfere with our proposed celebrating with you, because THAT is one thing that you do like nobody else! Bring it on!
Ben Jobes
In the closing North America vs. Europe comment, the authors missed an opportunity for a shout-out to the continent that is actually leading the way on marriage equality…South America.
Chrisomar Anselmo
Ahora si Luis López ya sal del clóset con tu pareja de lopez y asociados
Giancarlo85
@Ben Jobes: Exactly!
We’re trying to get it legalized in Colombia, but in other countries like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay it is already legal. Chile is also working on a bill, and Chile was traditionally one of the most conservative countries in South America. A brutal series of anti-gay hate crimes rocked the entire country and many Chileans changed their minds completely.
South America is way ahead of Central and North America.
Zemir Magalhães Bohlander
Viva Mexico!
Xander Blu
Juan I’m moving to mexico! Maricruz Guzman let me know if I can borrow your house for the reception! ð???
jwtraveler
@jaleoman: @Giancarlo85: Ignorance or lack of sense of humor? Can’t you recognize a joke when you see one?
Bob LaBlah
@Reniel N’ Michael: “But are their taco shops threatening not to cater any gay weddings?”
Hahahahahahahahahaha…….clap,clap,clap,clap,clap clap…..stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp stomp………pound, pound, pound(as in pounding the desk with both fists multiple times as well) oh my lord, you beat me to the horchata with that one. Bravo.
Giancarlo85
@jwtraveler: What lack of sense of humor? It was a typically stupid comment from someone making a bad stereotype. I don’t see the joke there.
@Bob LaBlah: Have you ever met a Mexican in your life? I doubt it.
carlosayala
@Aldo Miguel: Please inform yourself before comment. Cohabitation partnerships (Sociedades de convivencia) were approved in Mexico City back in 2006. Full Marriage Equality was introduced in our Civil Code in 2009. Since then, there is no legal distinction between same-sex and heterosexual marriages in the Federal District (Mexico City) and those couples have full adoption and social security rights. Last year Coahuila State approved a reform to its Civil Code to define marriage as the union of two persons without regard to their sex that also makes no distinction between homosexual and heterosexual couples, including adoption rights. This year, on June 5th, the Supreme Court approved a Jurisprudence Thesis (Tesis de jurisprudencia de la corte) which effectively allows every gay couple living in a state where marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman to marry by asking an injunction (un amparo) from a district judge. Those marriages will have full rights, including adoption, healthcare and social security.
jwtraveler
@Giancarlo85: He was making a humorous reference to the homophobic pizza place that announced that they wouldn’t cater a gay wedding. You’re too young for Alzheimer’s; do you have amnesia or are you so focused on finding reasons to be offended that you can’t think about anything else? Really, give it a rest for a moment and have a laugh.
Bob LaBlah
@Giancarlo85: “Have you ever met a Mexican in your life?”
So your ending our friendship? Honey, you read/see too much in these comments, but I must commend you for not going profane this time at least. I knew quite a few of the people who worked night office cleanup crew when I worked at Bank of America over at 1000 Temple street back in the day when it was the data processing center. I was really shocked at their command of english, but was also on the years when they came and worked hard and shut up. That was back in 197…..it was a while back and one of my first jobs when I got to California, in the days before it was just over ran with people who were beginning to look more and more like those people in those sickening ads you saw in the newspapers and television ALWAYS begging for money……anyway, yes, I did know some Mexicans.
You ever hear any of the older muchacha’s talk about a bar called Los Barrilitos that used to be on Santa Monica Blvd. I dated a couple of the dancers who understood english. There was even a building FULL of them over on Vine st, right around the corner from the bar, more or less. Ask about the history of Mexicans who strolled Santa Monica Blvd of yesteryear and educat your self about your proud past. One you should be proud of because were it not for their hitting that river first………….oh, never mind.
Cobalt Blue
With all the debauchery that comes around gay lives _ Some queen stated here that he and his ” husband ” are into gay prostitutes sometimes… _ it’s difficult to assume these marriages is to be taken for serious ones. I really doubt if gay men are stable enough to mantain this kind of relationship. Actually I’m appalled with “the progress of gay marriage ” in the world.
onthemark
@jwtraveler: Thanks for the valiant effort, but you needn’t waste time appealing to GC’s nonexistent sense of humor. Yes, he considers it rac*st to refer to the very existence of tacos in Mexico!
onthemark
@Cobalt Blue: And that all affects you… how?
ogotay
Allow me to comment on one specific line of your article:
“The ruling doesn’t automatically strike down state marriage laws, but rather allows gay couples denied marriage in their state to seek injunctions from district judges, who are now obligated to grant them.”
Couples had been seeking –and getting–injunctions based on the Mexico federal constitution even before this ruling came out. That’s how a same sex couple got married in Mexicali (Baja California) earlier in 2015, even though Baja California law does not allow same sex marriages.
Judges throughout Mexico are now required to apply the new “jurisprudence” (the decree saying that the sexual orientation of marriage candidates is not relevant and that procreation is not a valid purpose of the laws on marriage) in future injunctions against marriage laws that discriminate against same sex persons. The likely result in those suits is that they will be granted, but that is not a preordained result. That’s why it is perhaps not precise to say that judges are “obligated to grant them”.
Meanwhile, the Legislatures of the several Mexican states will begin to take notice. And perhaps more change will ensue.
The Mexican legal system is amazingly different than ours….it works in its own way…but it is working in the right direction.
Daniel-Reader
It’s wonderful that Mexico has a fair, impartial, independent judiciary.
Michael Fleck
nice weather
Giancarlo85
@jwtraveler: Bullshit. He was making a xenophobic reference and tried to make it seem funny. It was a lame attempt at humor that severely backfired and wrecked any point he was trying to make. A laugh at what? A banal attempt at humor? LOL. Hunny, I can do a lot better than that.
@Bob LaBlah: Your post is riddled with multiple failures of logic. Maybe you should actually try to use your brain, if you’re not already senile. No, you’ve never known any Mexicans. And the closest you been to Mexico was a “taco bell” (not Mexican at all). And all you found in that Taco Bell was a bunch of white college students.
“I dated a couple of the dancers who understood english.”
Highly doubtful.
“Ask about the history of Mexicans who strolled Santa Monica Blvd of yesteryear and educat your self about your proud past. One you should be proud of because were it not for their hitting that river first………….oh, never mind.
Oh that’s nice. Thanks for the incoherent xenophobia that is just riddled in your stupid rant. I am Colombian, not Mexican. But you think anyone who speaks Spanish is Mexican. I don’t have anything against Mexicans (and many of my friends are Mexican), but you’re just another typical white hillbilly ra*c*i*st.
Bob LaBlah
@Giancarlo85: Honey it looks like you are at the mercy of a laptop instead of cell phone. Your post are TOO infrequent the past week or so for me to think any different. What happened? Cant pay the bill? Why did you buy an I-phone instead of a cheaper model? There is plenty of other companies out there with payment plans even YOU can afford. Doesn’t Carl’s Jr. pay more than Taco Bell? And by the way, those people sure looked and talked like Mexicans that I worked with.
Jesús Sánchez
Edgar Iván DT Jose Edgardo Dominguez Juan Jose Gomez Ivan De Leon Pinon
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: I post when I get home lol. Not when I work. I can’t use my cellphone’s internet, except when I take lunch. You really need to have your mental problems worked out. I use my cell phone during lunch to check the latest football news (as you would call soccer). You’re an idiot who makes too many assumptions. I work for a public utility… so trust me, a lot more than you can imagine. The last job you had was in a local liquor store.
You’re just white trash.
Craig Tisman-Hicks
Viva la revolucion
jwtraveler
@onthemark: You’re right; it’s wasted effort. I should know better.
Giancarlo85
@onthemark: You probably think Taco Bell is Mexican. Give us all a break please. I never said anything about rac*i*sm. I said something about xenophobia and stereotypes though.
Bob LaBlah
@Giancarlo85: Sigh. Your still thinking you have a job and someone will believe you instead of me, aren’t you? Dear, you take the bus to and from work. The commute from East Los Angeles by bus to the sweltering factories of Pomona is at least one and a half hours each way. And that’s without traffic. You honestly expect me to believe with that much commuting time you can’t get a signal from somewhere till you get home? I was right and I bet that laptop runs Microsoft Vista, was given to you out of sympathy………
Look, one day you will be back up on your feet. And this time try to make it a point of NOT getting broke at the speed of light as soon as you get what little pay you do earn. I told you long ago that getting tanked up night after night in those dumps such as The Arena and the mecca for YOU people in every city, sexual orientation be damned, El Gato Negro, looking for some ol’ drunken bum that you steered back home with you to ask you to marry him. It aint going to happen. You know, it really seems just like yesterday morning when I taught you how to STOP “painting” Picaso’s while you were getting……. whats the use. You didn’t listen/learn then and you won’t NOW either.
Love you, honey. See you tomorrow.
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: Wrong. Nobody believes a cracker like you. Nobody even likes you on here nor so they understand anything you say. First you said I work at Mcdonalds and after that Carls Jr. Now you say some factory. Goodness… Make up your mind. I work for a public utility and it has nothing to do with getting a signal. I am not permitted in using my cell phone during work, unless it is for an emergency or work related reasons.
You are sick and demented. I save money from every pay check because I can. Please don’t be jealous because you never had that opportunity. And what little I make? Lol. Do you realize in two months I am going to be switching to administration? The pay is easily over $30 an hour. You are a messed up old man who has no clue. And please stop looking up places on google. You don’t know anything about LA or Arena for that matter. I go there with my friends and my boyfriend. Go back to watching bareback porn for endless hours while eating top ramen soups and value menu burgers. Your lack of intelligence is not wanted around here.
Bob LaBlah
@Giancarlo85: Some thing is wrong here. It was eight hours in between post for YOU. Some thing definitely wrong. And I bet I am right about why some thing is wrong too.
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: Because I actually work. I work for one of the largest utilities in the country. You just sit around all day watching bareback porn and masturbating…