Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tamaulipas since 19 November 2022. On 26 October 2022, the Congress of Tamaulipas passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a 23–12 vote.[1] It was published in the official state journal on 18 November, and took effect the following day.[2] Tamaulipas was the second-to-last Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Legal history
editBackground
editThe Mexican Supreme Court ruled on 12 June 2015 that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional nationwide. 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. Specifically, the court ruled that same-sex marriage bans violate Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. Article 1 of the Constitution states that "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", and Article 4 relates to matrimonial equality, stating that "man and woman are equal under the law. The law shall protect the organization and development of the family."
On 26 June 2014, 57 people filed an amparo challenging the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage ban.[3][4] They were granted the right to marry on 1 October 2014 by federal judges in both the Third District Court based in Nuevo Laredo and the Ninth District Court based in Tampico. Should any of the plaintiffs wish to marry, their partners would also be covered.[5] The state appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which ruled on 22 February 2017 that the definition of marriage in the Civil Code of Tamaulipas was unconstitutional. The court granted the plaintiffs the right to marry their partners.[6] A further 68 people later requested a collective amparo in Tampico, and received approval on 26 March 2015.[7] On 23 May 2016, an amparo was granted to two women who sought the right to marry.[8] In November 2016, a federal judge granted another amparo to a same-sex couple. The judge declared article 124 of the Civil Code, which referred to married parties as "a man and a woman", unconstitutional, ordering that it be altered to allow for same-sex marriages.[9] In January 2017, a federal judge warned deputies of the Congress of Tamaulipas that they would be fined for 100 days should they continue to refuse to legalize same-sex marriage.[10] By November 2018, 19 same-sex couples had married in Tamaulipas via the recurso de amparo remedy.[11]
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 Tamaulipas, three collective amparos and 17 individual amparos for same-sex marriages had been approved by September 2018. That same month, LGBT advocates filed proceedings with the Supreme Court arguing that the ban should be declared void and unenforceable.[12] On 16 November 2018, the court declared the ban unconstitutional and ordered Congress to modify the Civil Code within 180 business days.[11] However, legislators refused to modify the law. A deputy announced she was planning on filing a lawsuit with the Supreme Court in 2022 in hopes of forcing the state to comply with the earlier ruling.[13] By October 2022, 140 amparos for same-sex marriages had been granted in Tamaulipas, the largest number of any state.[14]
Legislative action
edit
In 2011, LGBT activists began a campaign urging the Congress of Tamaulipas to pass a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions.[15] In 2012, activists presented legislators with 25,000 signatures in favor of same-sex marriage.[16] In 2013, the Party of the Democratic Revolution agreed to support the proposal and bring the issue to a vote in Congress.[17] However, no vote took place over the following years, and the proposal was placed in the "legislative freezer" (congelador legislativo). In June 2015, Deputy Olga Patricia Sosa Ruiz confirmed that Congress was working on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. She stated that the reform was "complex" and estimated that the law would be passed within the next legislative session,[18] though no bill passed for the following seven years.
A bill to legalize same-sex marriage was introduced to Congress by Deputy Nancy Ruíz Martínez from the conservative National Action Party (PAN) in early October 2022. It was passed by a Congress committee on 19 October 2022 in a 14–1 vote.[19] A final vote was scheduled for the following week. The bill was approved by Congress by 23 votes to 12 with one abstention on 26 October, with those voting in favor being members of the National Regeneration Movement, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, Citizens' Movement and some PAN deputies. Religious groups opposed to same-sex marriage disrupted the session, causing legislators to move to another venue to vote on the legislation.[14][20] The bill was published in the official state journal on 18 November, following Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya's signature, and took effect the following day.[21] Article 132 of the Civil Code was amended from "To marry, the man and the woman must be of legal age." to "Those who marry must be of legal age."[a] Tamaulipas was the second-to-last Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage, before Guerrero the following month.
The law ensures that married same-sex couples have the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as married opposite-sex couples, including tax benefits, immigration rights, property rights, and inheritance, among others. Adoption by same-sex couples had already been legal prior to 2022, and so the legislation did not address this issue further.[23] The first same-sex marriage performed under the legislation took place in Tampico on 22 November between Carlos Rojas Hernández and Alejandro Tenorio del Angel.[24]
Marriage statistics
editThe first same-sex marriage in Altamira was performed in December 2017,[25] and the first in Ciudad Madero took place in February 2018;[26] both via the recurso de amparo remedy. The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Tamaulipas since legalization in 2022 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.[27]
| Year | Same-sex | Opposite-sex | Total | % same-sex | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Total | ||||
| 2022 | 20 | 7 | 27 | 13,345 | 13,372 | 0.20% |
| 2023 | 109 | 44 | 151 | 12,859 | 13,012 | 1.16% |
Public opinion
editAccording to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 44% of the Tamaulipas public opposed same-sex marriage.[28]
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Aprueban matrimonio igualitario en todo México". Grupo Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). 26 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
- ^ "Matrimonio igualitario en Tamaulipas ya es posible; publican reforma a Código Civil". Milenio (in Spanish). 18 November 2022. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ "Photoimage of document" (JPG). Snag.gy. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ^ "Quieren matrimonios del mismo sexo en Tamaulipas". El 5inco. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
- ^ "Ganan amparos y se casarán parejas gay en Tamaulipas". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
- ^ "Inconstitucional definición del matrimonio en Tamaulipas: Suprema Corte". 23 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Ganan amparo 68 parejas gay de Tamaulipas". Milenio (in Spanish). 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Realizarán primer matrimonio gay en septiembre". El Quiosco. 23 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Matrimonios gay son obligatorios". Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ "Emplaza juez a reformar leyes para bodas gay". Expreso. 28 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ a b posts, Tamaulipas En línea View all. "Avanza el matrimonio igualitario en Tamaulipas | Tamaulipas En Línea". Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ "Impulsan amparos matrimonio LGBT". Expreso. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Promoverán controversia en la SCJN para aprobar el matrimonio igualitario en Tamaulipas". 9 June 2022. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Tamaulipas aprobó matrimonio igualitario: ya es legal en todo México". infobae (in Spanish). 26 October 2022. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "HoyTamaulipas – Congreso del Estado podría legalizar el matrimonio gay en Tamaulipas". hoytamaulipas.net. Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ "Insisten en legalizar las bodas gay en Tamaulipas". 28 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Impulsará el PRD 'matrimonios gay' en Tamaulipas". 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Abrirán Código Civil a matrimonios gays" (in Spanish). Tampico, Mexico: El Mercurio de Tamaulipas. 21 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ Tampico, Víctor Alva | El Sol de. "Congreso aprueba en comisiones Ley de Matrimonio Igualitario en Tamaulipas". El Sol de México | Noticias, Deportes, Gossip, Columnas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ "México: Tamaulipas aprueba el matrimonio igualitario". Los Angeles Times (in Spanish). 27 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-11-05. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ Rivera, Christian (19 November 2022). "Matrimonio igualitario ya es posible en Tamaulipas". El Mañana (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ "Código Civil para el Estado de Tamaulipas" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- ^ Victoria, El Diario de (2022-10-25). "Matrimonio igualitario, de la polémica a la realidad - El Diario de Ciudad Victoria" (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
- ^ Alberto García, Jesús (22 November 2022). "En Tampico realizan primer matrimonio igualitario sin amparo en Tamaulipas". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Jonathan y Andres primer matrimonio gay en Altamira". EL DEBATE. Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ "Tras batalla legal de más de un año, Guillermo y Víctor ahora son legalmente marido y marido". Periódico el Cinco. 2 May 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-10-17. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
- ^ "#Data | ¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay? - El Sol de México". elsoldemexico.com.mx. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
External links
edit- "Decreto No. 65-419" [Text of Tamaulipas' same-sex marriage law] (PDF). Periódico Oficial del Estado de Tamaulipas (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2023.