Same-sex marriage in Campeche

Same-sex marriage became legal in the Mexican state of Campeche on 20 May 2016. In April 2016, Campeche's Governor, Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas, submitted a same-sex marriage bill to Congress, which was approved on 10 May 2016.^[1]

Civil unions

On 11 April 2013, the Party of the Democratic Revolution introduced a measure to legalize civil unions in Campeche.^[2] The bill was unanimously passed on 20 December 2013, and while it covers both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, it specifically provides that it "shall not constitute a civil partnership of people living together in marriage and cohabitation." An additional distinction is that it is not filed with the Civil Registrar, but with the Public Registry of Property and Trade.^[3]

Amparos

On 31 March 2014, a lesbian couple applied for a marriage license in San Francisco de Campeche but were denied in April 2014 based on a decision that same-sex couples must join via the state's civil union provisions.^[4] In July 2014, Mexico's Supreme Court declared that the current marriage laws were unconstitutional and told the local government that they must modify their Civil Code to allow same-sex marriages. It was later announced that the couple could marry after a district judge granted them an injunction, but the law must still be revised. PAN has said it will abide by the ruling.^[5] The couple married on 30 August 2014.^[6] In September 2014, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) announced that 16 persons, 10 from San Francisco de Campeche and 6 from Ciudad del Carmen have filed for injunctions and that analysis of changing the marriage statues is in progress.^[7]

State recognition of same-sex relationships in Mexico.

  Marriage at the state level

  5+ court orders supporting marriage, requiring legalization by the state government

  1–4 court orders supporting individual marriage

On 11 August 2015, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled, in a 9-1 decision, that Campeche's ban on same-sex couples adopting children is unconstitutional.^[8][9][10] The Supreme Court struck down article 19 of the civil union law which outlawed adoption by couples in civil unions.^[11] Children's rights were cited as the main reason for the Court's decision. The ruling set a constitutional precedent, meaning all bans in Mexico forbidding same-sex couples from adopting are unconstitutional and discriminatory.^[12] President of the Supreme Court, Luis María Aguilar Morales, voted with the majority and said the following in the ruling:^[8]

I see no problem for a child to be adopted in a society of co-existence, which has precisely this purpose. Are we going to prefer to have children in the street, which according to statistics exceed 100,000? We attend, of course, and perhaps with the same intensity or more, to the interests of the child.

On 23 September 2016, the Mexican Supreme Court finalised the ruling in the adoption case against Campeche and issued a nationwide jurisprudence which binds all lower court judges to rule in favor of same-sex couples seeking adoption and parental rights. Campeche's ban on same-sex adoption was lifted on 26 September 2016.^[13]

Marriage

On 4 April 2016, Campeche's Governor, Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas, submitted a same-sex marriage bill to Congress.^[14] Shortly after, the two largest parties in the state, PRI and PAN, announced their support for the bill.^[15] On 4 May 2016, the President of the Board of Directors announced that the bill will be voted upon sometime in May 2016.^[16] On 10 May 2016, the state Congress voted 34–1 to approve the same-sex marriage bill.^[17] It was published in the official state gazette on 16 May 2016 and came into effect on 20 May 2016.^[18] The law, however, did not legalize adoption for same-sex couples.^[19]

Article 157 of Campeche's Civil Code now reads as follows:^[18]

• in Spanish: Establece que el matrimonio es la unión de dos personas para llevar una vida en común, en donde ambas se deben procurar respeto, igualdad y ayuda mutua. Debe celebrarse ante las autoridades del Registro Civil tal y como lo establece este Código y con las formalidades que éste exige.

Political party	Members	Yes	No	Abstain	Absent
Institutional Revolutionary Party	15	15
National Action Party	11	11
Ecologist Green Party	3	3
National Regeneration Movement	3	2	1
New Alliance Party	2	2
Party of the Democratic Revolution	1	1
Total	35	34	1

On 14 June 2016, activists opposed to same-sex marriage filed an injunction against the legislation approved by Congress. They claimed the law was unfairly imposed on Campechanos and refuted allegations of homophobia.^[20][21] On 7 July 2016, a federal judge ruled in favor of a stay.^[22] However, on 8 July, Congress announced that the injunction only bars the plaintiffs from getting married to someone of the same sex.^[23] According to the president of Congress, Ramón Méndez Lanz, same-sex couples can continue getting married in the state.^[23][24]

See also

• Same-sex marriage in Mexico
• LGBT rights in Mexico

References

1. "Mexico: Campeche Becomes 7th Mexican State with Same-Sex Marriage". The Perchy Bird Blog. 10 May 2016.
2. IV Sesión
3. "Aprueba Campeche la Ley de Sociedades Civiles de Convivencia". La Jornada.
4. "Campeche dice "no" a su primera boda gay". SDPnoticias.com.
5. "Aprueban matrimonio gay en Campeche PAN dice que está bien". SDP Noticias. 17 July 2014.
6. Cheche Icthe. "Tiene Campeche primera boda gay". Milenio.
7. "16 PAREJAS LÉSBICO-GAY, INTERESADAS EN FORMALIZAR UNIÓN". La Voz de la Nación. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
8. Browning, Bill (12 August 2015). "Mexican Supreme Court Strikes Down Adoption Ban". The Advocate.
9. "Mexican court lifts ban on adoption by gay couples". Vallarta Pride. 19 August 2015.
10. "SCJN invalidates article forbidding gay couples from adopting in Campeche". The Yucatan Times. 12 August 2015.
11. Garner, Glenn (12 August 2015). "Mexican Supreme Court Lifts Same-Sex Adoption Ban in Campeche". Out Traveler.
12. "Supreme Court sides with gay adoption". Mexico News Daily. 15 August 2015.
13. Parejas del mismo sexo podrán adoptar en Campeche
14. Gobernador de Campeche envía iniciativa al Congreso sobre bodas gay
15. PRI y PAN a favor del matrimonio igualitario en Campeche
16. Este mes, parejas del mismo sexo podrán unirse legalmente en Campeche
17. El Congreso aprueba la Ley de Matrimonios Igualitarios
18. Entra en vigor Ley de Matrimonios Igualitarios
19. "Rechazan posibilidad de adopción a parejas gay". Tribuna de Campeche. 2 June 2016.
20. "Por amparo contra ley de bodas gay". Tribuna Campeche. 14 June 2016.
21. Vázquez Campos, Roxana (14 June 2016). "Agrupaciones ponen amparo contra familias diversas". El Expreso de Campeche.
22. (Spanish) Ordenan suspensiόn de matrimonios gay
23. (Spanish) PROCEDIMIENTO DE CONGRESO EN MATRIMONIOS IGUALITARIOS FUE CORRECTO
24. (Spanish) Casan a pareja gay en Cereso de Campeche