The 32nd and final state in Mexico has legalized gay marriage, meaning that same-sex unions are now allowed nationwide.
The last state to legalize same-sex marriage was Tamaulipas. It was legalized on Wednesday, allowing two people of the same gender to marry. In all, same-sex marriage is legal all over Mexico, the Associated Press reported.
Twenty-three of the 36 lawmakers reportedly voted in favor of recognizing the said unions. The voting came on the same day after Guerrero also legalized same-sex marriage, the Mexico News Daily reported.
A deputy with the National Action Party, Nancy Ruiz Martinez, presented the proposal before Congress and said that the approval ended one form of discrimination against gay people.
As a result, Martinez added that there are no longer first and second class citizens when it comes to the right to get married.
“All people must enjoy that right,” she said. “Whenever there is a just cause to fight for, know that you have an unconditional ally in me.”
Aside from Tamaulipas and Guerrero, other states that have legalized same-sex marriage include Durango, Jalisco, Yucatán, Veracruz, México state and Tabasco.
In 2021, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Zacatecas approved same-sex marriage.
It was in 2015 when the Supreme Court declared state laws preventing same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Some states took several years to adopt laws that conformed with the ruling.
“Today is a historic day for the LGBTQ community and for Mexico. Today, we and our families are more visible, more equal, and we are a country with more justice,” activist Enrique Torre Molina said in a report by Aljazeera.
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Arturo Zaldivar, also welcomed the vote.
“The whole country shines with a huge rainbow. Live the dignity and rights of all people. Love is love,” Zalidivar posted on Twitter.
Same-sex marriage has been advancing steadily in Latin America. Argentina was the first to legalize it, in 2010, followed by Brazil and Uruguay. Others have been taking steps along this path.
Until recently, it had been extremely difficult for same-sex couples to be wed in Mexico, but Mexico's supreme court published an opinion, known as a jurisprudential thesis, stating that limiting the definition of marriage to only a union between a man and a woman is discriminatory and in violation of Mexico's constitution. The ruling took effect in 2015.
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