Same-sex marriage in Mexico

Same-sex marriage is legally recognized and performed throughout Mexico since 2022.[1] On 10 August 2010 the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled that same-sex marriages performed anywhere within Mexico must be recognized by the 31 states without exception, and fundamental spousal rights except for adoption (such as alimony payments, inheritance rights, and the coverage of spouses by the federal social security system) have also applied to same-sex couples across the country.[2] Mexico was the fifth country in North America[a] and the 33rd worldwide to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.[3]

Only civil marriages are recognized by Mexican law, and all proceedings fall under state legislation.[4] On 12 June 2015, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled that state bans on same-sex marriage violate the federal constitution. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate any state laws, but required judges and courts throughout Mexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages, and any marriage law that that was changed and did not recognize same-sex marriage would be declared unconstitutional and invalidated.[5]

By October 2022, Mexico City and all Mexican states had legalized same-sex marriage, either by legislation, executive action, or Supreme Court order.[1][6] However, marital rights are not necessarily equal when it comes to adoption: only 22 of the 31 Mexican states, plus Mexico City, have civil codes that allow same-sex couples to adopt, though in other states same-sex couples can adopt through the court system under jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court. In 4 of the 31 Mexican states, marriage licenses are issued to same-sex couples despite not being allowed under state law; they may take more time to process or be more expensive than licenses for opposite-sex couples, and there is a possibility that future administrations might stop issuing licensees.

Same-sex civil unions (Spanish: sociedad de convivencia, pronounced [sosjeˈðað ðe kombiˈβensja])[b] are legally performed in Mexico City and in the states of Campeche,[8] Coahuila, Michoacán,[9] Tlaxcala and Veracruz.[10] From 2013 to 2016, they were also performed in the state of Colima, but were replaced by same-sex marriage legislation.[11] They were also performed in Jalisco beginning in 2014, but the law was struck down on procedural grounds in 2018.

Equality of same-sex marriage in Mexican states
  Legal equality of marriages of same-sex and opposite-sex couples
  Marriage licenses are issued to same-sex couples despite not being allowed under state law; they may take more time to process or be more expensive than licenses for opposite-sex couples
  Inequality of marriage: married same-sex couples do not qualify as married when it comes to the adoption of children
  1. ^ a b "Aprueban matrimonio igualitario en todo México". Grupo Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  2. ^ Agren, David (10 August 2010). "Mexican States Ordered to Honor Gay Marriages". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Same-Sex Marriage Around the World". Pew Research Center. 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  4. ^ Government of Canada (29 April 2008). "Marriage and Divorce in Mexico". Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  5. ^ "Gay Mexico". GayTravel. 14 May 2019.
  6. ^ Rob Salerno (27 October 2022). "Same-sex marriage is finally legal throughout Mexico". xtramagazine.com.
  7. ^ "LEY DE SOCIEDADES DE CONVIVENCIA SOLIDARIA PARA EL ESTADO DE TLAXCALA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Legalizan bodas gays en Campeche". SDP Noticias. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Aprueban Código Familiar en Michoacán; no incluye matrimonios gay – Quadratín". 7 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Concubinato igualitario: "madruguete" a católicos y oposición". La Silla Rota. 28 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Congreso de Colima aprueba matrimonios igualitarios". El Universal (in Spanish). Notimex. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2017.


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