^abNeither performed nor recognized insome tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations andAmerican Samoa.
^Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
^A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
^Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
^Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
TheCongress of Puebla passed a bill codifying same-sex marriage into state law on 3 November 2020, amending various articles of the Civil Code to reflect the Supreme Court ruling.[6] The law was signed byGovernorMiguel Barbosa Huerta, and took effect on 11 November 2020.
TheSupreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled on 12 June 2015 that state bans onsame-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. Specifically, the court ruled that bans on same-sex marriage violate Articles 1 and 4 of theConstitution of Mexico. Article 1 of the Constitution states:
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.[a]
An important recognition case was granted viaamparo on 29 January 2014. A same-sex couple, married in 2012 inMexico City, filed anamparo against theMexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) after it had refused to register one of the partners for spousal benefits. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the IMSS was required to recognize themarriage.[9] On 15 October 2014, anamparo for thirteen couples was filed with the support of Equal Marriage Mexico (Matrimonio Igualitario México) and the Citizens Observatory of Sexual and Reproductive Rights (Observatorio Ciudadano de Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos) seeking to have the state's same-sex marriage ban declared unconstitutional.[10][11][12] In March 2015, reports surfaced that a judge had ruled against the couples citing the requirement that they "prove theirhomosexuality". Activists slammed this as a delay tactic andappealed to the Supreme Court.[13] On 5 May 2016, the court ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional and discriminatory, and allowed the plaintiff couples to marry.[14] On 1 June 2016, the Supreme Court issued a similar ruling in a case involving fifteen couples.[15]
In November 2014, a federal court granted Guadalupe Gómez Tetetla and Fabiola Lucero Méndeza anamparo. The couple had filed theamparo earlier that year after their request for amarriage license had been rejected. The state appealed the decision, and an appellate court upheld the ruling on 10 July 2015. Their wedding, which was the firstsame-sex marriage in the state of Puebla, took place on 1 August 2015.[16][17] In September 2016, officials in the municipality ofSan Pedro Cholula announced that any same-sex couple who wishes to marry in the municipality may do so without hindrance, citing nationwidejurisprudence established by the Supreme Court.[18]
On 7 December 2006, acivil union bill, similar to the law submitted inMexico City, was proposed in Puebla, but it faced strong opposition and criticism from deputies of theInstitutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and theNational Action Party (PAN), which declared that "thetraditional family [was] the only social model, and there [could not] be another one."[19] The civil union bill was proposed again on 15 March 2011.[20] After five reviews in the ensuing years,[21] the bill was postponed until a laterlegislative session on 8 June 2014.[22] On 29 September 2014, theCongress of Puebla announced that there would be no discussion in that legislative term.[23] Activists organized a march on 8 November 2014 urging the Congress to legalize same-sex marriage.[24] Congress rejected a civil union bill in December 2014.[25] TheParty of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which supported the measure, announced its intention to re-introduce a similar bill in 2015.[26] On 11 June 2015, a PRD deputy submitted a marriage bill instead, citing national court decisions in favor of same-sex marriage.[27][28] In June 2016, state officials announced they would postpone a vote on the legislation until after the Supreme Court ruled on the action of unconstitutionality filed in April 2016.[29]
Action of unconstitutionality and passage of legislation
On 27 April 2016, theNational Human Rights Commission filed an action of unconstitutionality (acción de inconstitucionalidad; docketed 29/2016) against the state of Puebla, contesting the constitutionality of articles 294, 297 and 300 of the Civil Code. The Congress of Puebla had recently amended state family law, but left the same-sex marriage ban in place. The lawsuit sought to legalize same-sex marriage in Puebla, similarly to what had happened inJalisco, where the Supreme Courtstruck down that state's same-sex marriage ban in a unanimous ruling in early 2016.[30][31] Article 294 defined marriage as the union of "a man and a woman" whose goal was "perpetuating the species", and article 297 similarly definedconcubinage as between "a man and a woman". Article 300 required the "man and woman" to be at least 16 years of age. On 1 August 2017, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the three articles violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico.[1] In late January 2018, despite opposition from Congress, the civil registry announced it would abide by the ruling and start processing marriage applications from same-sex couples.[32][33] The ruling officially came into effect upon publication in theOfficial Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on 16 February 2018.[5] State officials have also confirmed that the court ruling permitssame-sex couples to adopt.[34]
In October 2018, DeputyMaría García Olmedo from the Institutional Revolutionary Party introduced a bill to Congress to codify same-sex marriage in the Civil Code.[35] On 4 October 2019, a Congress committee voted against decriminalizingabortion,[36] and updating state law to reflect the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage.[b] Shortly following the vote, Deputy García Olmedo filed a legal challenge with the Supreme Court, arguing that Congress' refusal to amend state law to recognize same-sex marriages in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling was unconstitutional.[37] García Olmedo also accused deputies of theNational Regeneration Movement (MORENA), who mostly voted for the measure, of "betrayal", as the party was elected on a platform supporting LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. On 30 October 2020, a Congress committee voted 4–2 with 1 abstention in favor of a same-sex marriage bill introduced by Deputy Vianey García Romero.[38] On 3 November 2020, Congress approved the legislation 31–5.[39][40][41] The law was published in the official state journal on 10 November, followingGovernorMiguel Barbosa Huerta's signature, and took effect the following day.[42] Article 294 of the Civil Code now reads:Marriage is a civil contract by which two persons voluntarily unite in partnership to live a common life, with respect, mutual support, and equality of rights and obligations.[c]
The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Puebla since 2019 as reported by theNational Institute of Statistics and Geography.[44] Figures for 2020 are lower than previous years because of the restrictions in place due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Number of marriages performed in Puebla
Year
Same-sex
Opposite-sex
Total
% same-sex
Female
Male
Total
2019
51
40
91
17,058
17,149
0.53%
2020
26
20
46
12,649
12,695
0.36%
2021
66
55
121
16,046
16,167
0.75%
2022
84
53
137
17,095
17,232
0.80%
2023
60
43
103
15,574
15,677
0.66%
2024
53
38
81
16,086
16,177
0.50%
121 same-sex marriages were performed in Puebla in 2021; 66 between two women and 55 between two men. Most marriages took place inPuebla de Zaragoza at 81 andSan Pedro Cholula at 23.[45]
A 2017 opinion poll conducted byGabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 48.5% of Puebla residents supported same-sex marriage, while 48% were opposed.[46] According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 37% of the Puebla public opposed same-sex marriage.[47]
^In some official and indigenous languages of Puebla:
Spanish:Queda prohibida toda discriminación motivada por origen étnico o nacional, el género, la edad, las discapacidades, la condición social, las condiciones de salud, la religión, las opiniones, las preferencias sexuales, el estado civil o cualquier otra que atente contra la dignidad humana y tenga por objeto anular o menoscabar los derechos y libertades de las personas.
Otomi:Hingi tsa da t’utsa ya jä’i num’u ngu ra mengu ka ya hnini hñätho, ne ha ra ñ’oho ua ra m’ehñä, ra jeya gä mets’i, ha nxotho ra jä’i, hä ua hin’ä bojä, ha hingi dathi, ne te ma nijä pa, xa nthäti ua hin’ä ne ha ua ma n’a ngu embi t’uni ra m’ui gä mu’i di thegi di mu’i ra n’yo ya jä’i.[8]
Totonac:Nixli’anat lalakgapalan akxni talakgxtapali kilhtsukut, minat, kata, tatuwajnit, tatakgsat, takanajla, takgalhchiwin, talakgatin, talatamat osu tu sipani latamana chu laktlawa osu chuxu xlakgchanat chu xlikstu xtapakgsit latamananin.
Popoloca:Kohya kjuachaxín tsondáchro chojni kixin ijnko nkexro la kahño tjetoan kixin ti nkexrín tsjehe o̱ ti nketín kjui̱xin, á ndoa o̱ ichjin, ti náno chonta, nkojín ichin chonta, á chonta chichaon o̱ nahí, á nihi o̱ nahí, nke ni̱nko itji, nexrín tjenka̱yáxin, nkehe tóxríhi̱n ts’ona, á tsíkote̱he o̱ nahí la kain ti nkehe ts’ándáxi éxi n chojni o̱ sich’exin meno ijnko nkexro la tsakitsjehe ti kjuachaxín chonta nkojnko chojni sich’e ti nkehe tsjinkaon.
^At the time, article 294 of the Civil Code read:El matrimonio es un contrato civil, por el cual un sólo hombre y una sola mujer, se unen en sociedad para perpetuar la especie y ayudarse en la lucha por la existencia., translating to "Marriage is a civil contract by which one man and one woman unite in partnership to perpetuate the species and to help each other in the struggle for existence."
^Spanish:El matrimonio es un contrato civil por el cual dos personas se unen voluntariamente en sociedad, para llevar una vida en común, con respeto, ayuda mutua e igualdad de derechos y obligaciones.
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