Same-sex marriage in Nuevo León

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Same-sex marriage is legal in Nuevo León is legal in accordance with a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation on 19 February 2019 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violated the Constitution of Mexico.[1][2] The ruling came into effect on 31 May 2019 upon publication in the Official Journal of the Federation.[3][4][5] By statute, in Mexico, if any five rulings from the courts on a single issue result in the same outcome, legislatures are bound to change the law. In the case of Nuevo León, almost 20 individual amparos were decided with the same outcome, yet the state did not act. On 19 February 2019, the Supreme Court issued a definitive ruling in an action of unconstitutionality, declaring the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, void and unenforceable. Same-sex marriage was codified into law by the Nuevo León Congress on 14 June 2023.[6]

Legal history

Background

On 12 June 2015, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional nationwide under Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate state laws, meaning that same-sex couples denied the right to marry would still have to seek individual amparos in court. The ruling standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughout Mexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages and made the approval mandatory.

In September 2013, a federal judge ordered the civil registry to register the marriage of a lesbian couple from Monterrey.[7] Governor Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz said his administration would abide by the order but only for that specific case.[8] In June 2014, it was reported that nine amparos had been filed in the state, but only one had been resolved.[9] Oral arguments were heard in court in September 2014 concerning a collective amparo filed by 50 gay and lesbian people contesting the constitutionality of articles 147 and 291bis of the Civil Code. Article 147 described marriage as "the legal union of a man and a woman" and article 291bis similarly defined concubinage as "between a man and a woman".[10] On 16 October 2014, the Supreme Court declared the two articles unconstitutional and gave the 50 people in question the right to marry their partner.[11] Another collective amparo, this time involving 38 people, was approved by the First Chamber of the Supreme Court on 28 September 2016,[12] and another, involving 118 people, was granted by the First Chamber of the Supreme Court on 19 October 2017.[13]

On 17 February 2016, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court ordered the state government to recognize cohabitation between same-sex couples.[14]

On 9 October 2018, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the Nuevo León Civil Code was unconstitutional and discriminatory in limiting marriage to different-sex couples. The court ordered the state Congress to change the law within 180 business days (i.e. by 16 April 2019). By that time, 18 amparos for same-sex marriage rights had been approved in the state.[15] However, in February 2019, prior to the April deadline, the Supreme Court ruled in an action of unconstitutionality against the state, legalizing same-sex marriage in Nuevo León.[15]

Legislative action

On 17 June 2015, the New Alliance Party announced its intention to introduce a same-sex marriage bill to the Congress of Nuevo León. The bill was presented on 22 June by Deputy María Dolores Leal Cantú. An independent congressman subsequently announced his intention to submit a civil union proposal with the support of the ruling National Action Party (PAN).[16] Legislators announced that the marriage bill would be voted on sometime in September 2016,[17] but this did not happen. In November 2017, after LGBT groups organized a protest march in favor of same-sex marriage in front of the Congress building, the state's PAN leader reiterated the party's opposition to same-sex marriage and announced it would continue to block debate on the marriage bill.[18]

A bill amending state statutes to codify the legalisation of same-sex marriage passed Congress on 14 June 2023 in a 23–10 vote.[6] It was signed into law by Governor Samuel García and published in the official gazette on 24 June. It went into effect the following day.[19] Article 147 of the Civil Code was amended to read:

  • in Spanish: El matrimonio es la unión legítima de dos personas para guardarse fidelidad y crear entre ellos una comunidad de vida permanente y ayuda mutua.
  • (Marriage is the legitimate union of two people who must guarantee faithfulness to each other and who create together a permanent community of life and provide each other with mutual aid.)
Political party Members Yes No Abstain
Institutional Revolutionary Party 14 10 4
National Action Party 14 5 6 3
Citizens' Movement 11 5 4 2
National Regeneration Movement 2 2
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico 1 1
Total 42 23 10 9

Action of unconstitutionality (2018–2019)

The Mexican Supreme Court (building pictured) invalidated Nuevo León's same-sex marriage ban in 2019, allowing for such marriages to be performed in the state.

In February 2018, the National Human Rights Commission filed an action of unconstitutionality (acción de inconstitucionalidad; docketed 29/2018) against the state of Nuevo León, contesting the constitutionality of articles 140, 147 and 148 of the Civil Code. The Congress of Nuevo León had recently amended state family law but while doing so did not repeal the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The Commission took this opportunity to file the action of unconstitutionality. Article 147 described marriage as "the legal union of a man and a woman", and articles 140 and 148 required "the man and the woman" to be at least 18 years of age.[20] This lawsuit sought to fully legalize same-sex marriage in Nuevo León, similarly to what had happened in the states of Chiapas (in case 32/2016), Puebla (in case 29/2016) and Jalisco (in case 28/2015).

On 19 February 2019, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled unanimously in a 10–0 vote that the articles of the Civil Code limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples were unconstitutional under Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico, legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples in the state of Nuevo León.[21][3][22][23] Governor Jaime Rodríguez Calderón expressed his personal opposition to the ruling,[24] and religious groups opposed to same-sex marriage asked Rodríguez Calderón to override or ignore the ruling; however, he did not have the power to do so.[25] Congress was officially notified of the ruling on 26 February.[26] The state's ban on same-sex marriage violated Article 1 of the Constitution, which reads:

Any form of discrimination, based on ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disabilities, social status, medical conditions, religion, opinions, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other form, which violates the human dignity or seeks to annul or diminish the rights and freedoms of the people, is prohibited.

The ruling officially came into force on 31 May 2019 upon publication in the Official Journal of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación).[27] Prior to the publication date, the civil registry nonetheless began processing marriage applications from same-sex couples and issuing marriage licenses. The first same-sex couple to marry were Janeth Oliva and Amatzú Aranda on 11 March 2019 in San Nicolás de los Garza.[28]

Marriage statistics

The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Nuevo León since legalization in 2019 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.[29]

Number of marriages performed in Nuevo León
Year Same-sex Opposite-sex Total % same-sex
Female Male Total
2019 102 83 185 25,514 25,699 0.72%
2020 66 62 128 19,483 19,611 0.65%
2021 132 57 189 25,705 25,894 0.73%

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 48% of Nuevo León residents supported same-sex marriage, while 49% were opposed.[30]

According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 44% of the Nuevo León public opposed same-sex marriage.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Legalizan matrimonio igualitario en Nuevo León". El Siglo (in Spanish). 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  2. ^ "SCJN avala matrimonios gay en Nuevo León". La Silla Rota (in Spanish). 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b (in Spanish) Corte invalida artículos que impedían el matrimonio igualitario en Nuevo León Archived 2019-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "La Corte da un revés al Bronco y ordena legalizar bodas gay en Nuevo León". The Huffington Post. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  5. ^ Pablo Reyes, Juan (19 February 2019). "Corte ordena legalizar bodas gay en Nuevo León". Excelsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Matrimonio gay: Congreso de Nuevo León aprueba el matrimonio igualitario; ya es legal en todo el país". El Informador :: Noticias de Jalisco, México, Deportes & Entretenimiento (in Mexican Spanish). 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  7. ^ Daniela Mendoza y Reynaldo Ochoa. "Amparo abre puerta al matrimonio gay en NL". Milenio. Archived from the original on 2017-05-27. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  8. ^ adminbarrio. "Con los excluidos del Congreso de Nuevo León". El Barrio Antiguo. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  9. ^ "Sí hay bodas gay en NL". Periódico ABC. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014.
  10. ^ Daniela Mendoza Luna. "Con amparo luchan por matrimonios igualitarios". Milenio. Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  11. ^ Daniela Mendoza. "Juzgado abre la puerta a 48 bodas gay en NL". Milenio. Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  12. ^ (in Spanish) SCJN avala matrimonios gay en Nuevo León, Hidalgo y Chiapas Archived 2019-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ (in Spanish) Ganan 118 personas amparo para matrimonio gay en NL Archived 2017-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Ordena la Corte a El Bronco reconocer concubinato gay" (in Spanish). Proceso. 17 February 2016. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  15. ^ a b (in Spanish) En desacato, Congreso de Nuevo León, sino aprueba en 90 días, Matrimonio Igualitario Archived 2018-11-16 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Presentan iniciativa que permita matrimonio gay en NL". Periódico ABC. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Alistan discusión de matrimonio igualitario en NL". 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  18. ^ (in Spanish) El líder del PAN en el Congreso de Nuevo León, Arturo Salinas, asegura que no hay iniciativa para discutir el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Reyes, Daniel (24 June 2023). "Entra mañana en vigor matrimonio igualitario". El Diario de Chihuahua (in Spanish).
  20. ^ (in Spanish) Corte admite recurso contra matrimonio entre mujer y hombre en NL Archived 2018-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "Acción de Inconstitucionalidad 29/2018". Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  22. ^ (in Spanish) Suprema Corte declara inconstitucional negar matrimonio gay en Nuevo León Archived 2019-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ (in Spanish) Corte ordena legalizar bodas gay en Nuevo León Archived 2019-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ (in Spanish) El Bronco en desacuerdo por legalización del matrimonio igualitario en Nuevo León Archived 2019-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Castillo, Gabriela (26 February 2019). "Grupos religiosos exigen al 'Bronco' prohibir el matrimonio igualitario". Plumas Atómicas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  26. ^ "El matrimonio igualitario ya es una realidad en Nuevo León". HuffPost (in Spanish). 26 February 2019. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  27. ^ Silvia Erika Arellano (31 May 2019). "Publican en DOF aprobación del matrimonio gay en NL". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  28. ^ César Cubero (11 March 2019). "Registran primer matrimonio gay en NL, sin amparo". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  29. ^ "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-10-17. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  30. ^ (in Spanish) Encuesta nacional 2017 Archived 2017-09-19 at the Wayback Machine, Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica
  31. ^ (in Spanish) #Data | ¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay? Archived 2019-04-16 at the Wayback Machine

External links