| Part of theLGBTQ rights series |
Recognized |
Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage |
See also
|
Notes
|
 LGBTQ portal |
Same-sex marriage has been legal inChihuahua since 12 June 2015.[1] Bystatute, inMexico, if any five rulings from the courts on a single issue result in the same outcome, legislatures are bound to change the law.[2] In the case of Chihuahua, more than 20 individualamparos were decided with the same outcome, yet the Congress did not act. In anticipation of theSupreme Court of Justice of the Nation ordering the Congress to act, GovernorCésar Duarte Jáquez announced on 11 June that there would be no further prohibition in the state.Marriage licenses became available the following day, 12 June 2015. Chihuahua was the third Mexicanstate to legalize same-sex marriage, afterQuintana Roo andCoahuila.The gubernatorial policy was continued byMaría Eugenia Campos Galván in 2021.[citation needed]
On 30 April 2013, a same-sex couple applied for amarriage license inChihuahua City. The civil registry rejected their request, arguing that the Civil Code definedmarriage as the "union of a man and a woman", and thus it could not issue a license to a same-sex couple. The couple filed suit on 7 May 2013, and on 19 August Judge José Juan Múzquiz Gómez of the Tenth District Court of Chihuahua ruled that the couple had the right to marry. The civil registry had until 3 September toappeal the decision.[3] It did not appeal and allowed the deadline to pass, thereby permitting the couple to marry.[4] On 31 October 2013, alesbian couple was awarded anamparo by the Seventh District Court,[5] and they married inJuárez Municipality in February 2014.[6] On 22 November 2013, Judge Ignacio Cuenca Zamora of the Eighth District Court granted a thirdamparo to a lesbian couple.[7] In December 2013, a fourth couple, Eduardo Piñón and Julio Salázar, were granted anamparo. They married on 13 February 2014, making them the first two men to marry inCiudad Juárez.[8] In February 2014, a fifthamparo was granted to Hiram González, president of a localLGBTQ group known as CHEROS (Centro Humanístico de Estudios Relacionados con la Orientación Sexual).[9]
On 19 March 2014, seven lesbian couples were denied marriage licenses in Ciudad Juárez. The civil registrar, Iván Peña Zapién, said it would have been his "pleasure" to issue the licenses, but the law at the time forbade him from issuing licenses to same-sex couples. He encouraged the couples to file anamparo, which they later did.[10] On 30 June 2014, 26 additional couples filed anamparo seeking the right to marry.[11] By July 2014, 33amparos had been filed in the state; 22 in Chihuahua City and 11 in Ciudad Juárez, and of these, nine had been granted by the courts, while the remaining were awaiting decisions from judges.[12] 2 more same-sex marriages were performed in August 2014.[13][14] On 13 December 2014, four lesbian couples were married in a mass wedding ceremony in Ciudad Juárez after having successfully receivedamparos from the courts.[15] This brought the number of same-sex marriages in the state to 14 for 2014.[16] By February 2015, 25amparos for same-sex marriage rights had been granted in the state.[17] Therecurso de amparo remedy only allowed the couples who filed theamparo to marry. It did not legalize same-sex marriage in Chihuahua, as same-sex couples who wished to marry were forced to use thisremedy and appear in court before being granted the right to marry.
In December 2012, lawmakers were presented with a proposal to amend articles 134 and 135 of the Civil Code of Chihuahua to legalizesame-sex marriage.[18] After years with no legislative action, theNational Action Party (PAN) announced in July 2014 that they would consider approvingcivil unions, but not same-sex marriage. LGBT groups opposed civil unions because they would provide same-sex couples with less rights than married spouses.[19] Frustrated with the delay and legislative inaction, 3 LGBT organizations filed anamparo seeking to have the articles of the Civil Code prohibiting same-sex marriage declared unconstitutional and forcing Congress to legalize same-sex marriage.[20] The organizations challenged articles 134 and 135, which defined marriage as the "union of a man and a woman" and characterized marriage as an institution whose purpose was "perpetuating the species". A judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on 13 November 2014, declared the articles unconstitutional, and ordered Congress to legalize same-sex marriage.[21] In early February 2015, Judge Cuenca Zamora ruled that the state had an obligation to abide by the findings of theinjunction.[22]
On 12 June 2015, theSupreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled 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 individualamparos in court. The ruling standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughoutMexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages and made the approval mandatory. The court based its decision on Article 4 of theConstitution of Mexico, which respects matrimonial equality:[23] "Man and woman are equal under the law. The law shall protect the organization and development of the family".[a] Soon after the Supreme Court ruling, Deputy María Eugenia Campos Galván (PAN) introduced a bill to Congress to limit marriage to "one man and one woman for the purpose of procreation". Her proposal was supported by the PAN block of legislators,[24] but was unsuccessful.
On 9 March 2017, Deputy Crystal Tovar Aragóna from theParty of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) introduced a bill to repeal articles 134 and 135.[25][26] After two years of legislative inaction, Deputy Lourdes Valle Armendáriz from theNational Regeneration Movement introduced a new same-sex marriage bill in May 2019.[27] Both bills stalled and were not voted on.
In February 2017, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the refusal of Congress to amend the Chihuahua Civil Code was unconstitutional, and ordered Congress to pass legislation codifying same-sex marriage within 90 days.[28][29] Following the ruling, several conservative lawmakers said they would defy the court ruling. A PAN deputy claimed erroneously that the Supreme Court could not force the state to change its Civil Code,[30] and theSocial Encounter Party (PES) said they would sue the state for allowing same-sex couples to marry.[31] GovernorJavier Corral Jurado called for same-sex marriage to be discussed in Congress.[32] In late March, the Civil Registry of Chihuahua modified the marriage license forms, replacing the terms "groom's name" and "bride's name" with "names of the contracting parties", thus also applying to same-sex couples. Changes tobirth certificates were also made.[33] These changes caused an uproar within conservative groups.[34] In April 2017, Governor Corral Jurado issued anexecutive order reinstating the terms "mother" and "father" on birth certificates.[35] Even though the Supreme Court had ordered Congress to change the Civil Code within 90 days, by December 2017 it had still not been modified to comply with the Mexican Constitution by removing the heterosexual definition of marriage.[36] In October 2018, the Tenth District Court of Chihuahua ruled that should the Congress fail to amend its Civil Code "soon", it would hold legislators incontempt of court and order their dismissal from office,[37] but the Civil Code still remained unchanged in 2022.
On 11 June 2015, GovernorCésar Duarte Jáquez issued adecree stating that the state would no longer prohibit same-sex marriages.[38][39][40] Duarte Jáquez announced that marriage licenses would be available beginning on 12 June,[1] making Chihuahua the fourth jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage, afterMexico City,Quintana Roo, andCoahuila. Conservative groups condemned Duarte Jáquez's decree, and in September 2016 lawmakers opposed to same-sex marriage attempted unsuccessfully to pass legislation to nullify the decree.[41] The decree ensures that married same-sex couples enjoy the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as married opposite-sex couples, includingtax benefits,immigration rights,property rights,inheritance, etc. Married couples are also permitted toadopt regardless ofsexual orientation.[42] By June 2016, five same-sex couples had petitioned to adopt.[43][44]
In April 2017, multiple Mexican media outlets reported that GovernorJavier Corral Jurado had issued a new decree banning same-sex marriage in Chihuahua.[45] A few days later, when asked to comment, Governor Corral Jurado denied having issued a decree banning same-sex marriage. He affirmed that same-sex couples are allowed to marry in Chihuahua without their needing to file anamparo.[46] Corral Jurado also stated he had personally married 30 same-sex couples inDelicias,Ciudad Cuauhémoc and Ciudad Juárez since his election as governor in 2016.[47]
The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Chihuahua since legalization in 2015 as reported by theNational Institute of Statistics and Geography.[48] Figures for 2020 are much lower than previous years because of the restrictions in place due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
| Year | Same-sex | Opposite-sex | Total | % same-sex | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Total | ||||
| 2015 | 44 | 23 | 67 | 20,083 | 20,150 | 0.33% |
| 2016 | 61 | 42 | 103 | 19,058 | 19,161 | 0.54% |
| 2017 | 98 | 66 | 164 | 15,825 | 15,989 | 1.03% |
| 2018 | 114 | 78 | 192 | 15,595 | 15,787 | 1.22% |
| 2019 | 163 | 79 | 242 | 16,346 | 16,588 | 1.46% |
| 2020 | 81 | 43 | 124 | 10,704 | 10,828 | 1.15% |
| 2021 | 179 | 101 | 280 | 16,566 | 16,846 | 1.66% |
The first same-sex marriage for aRarámuri same-sex couple was performed in January 2022. The couple, Carlos Eduardo Lara González and Rogelio Aguirre López, said, "We had lived together for three years, with this we seek to motivate that love is universal. They can be a man and a man, a woman and a woman, it is the same simply to close the discrimination gap."[49]
A 2017 opinion poll conducted byGabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 45% of Chihuahua residents supported same-sex marriage, while 52.5% were opposed.[50]
According to a 2018 survey by theNational Institute of Statistics and Geography, 36% of the Chihuahua public opposed same-sex marriage.[51]
