Same-sex marriage in Coahuila

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Coahuila since 17 September 2014. On 1 September 2014, the Congress of Coahuila approved legislation opening marriage to same-sex couples by 19 votes to 1. The law was signed by Governor Rubén Moreira Valdez, and went into force on 1 September. Prior to the law's passage, civil unions for same-sex couples were legal, but not same-sex marriage. The Congress passed a bill legalising civil unions in January 2007.

The passage of the same-sex marriage bill made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico, and the first state (as Mexico City is not a state), to pass same-sex marriage via legislative means. Only Mexico City and the state of Quintana Roo allowed for same-sex marriage prior to Coahuila.

Civil unions

Discussion on the legalization of same-sex civil unions in Coahuila started as early as November 2006, simultaneously with the discussion then ongoing in Mexico City.^[1] On 11 January 2007, the Congress of Coahuila voted 20–13 to legalize same-sex civil unions under the name pacto civil de solidaridad (PCS, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpaɣto siˈβil de soliðaɾiˈðað]), which gave property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples; similar to France's civil solidarity pact and Germany's registered life partnership.^[2][3] The legislation was signed by Governor Humberto Moreira. This made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico after Mexico City to recognize same-sex unions.

"The PCS represented a sensible response to the existence of citizens who traditionally have been victims of discrimination, humiliation and abuse. This does not have to do with morality. It has to do with legality. As human beings, we have to protect them as they are. It has to do with civil liberty," said Congresswoman Julieta López Fuentes from the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose members voted for the law.^[3] Deputy Luis Alberto Mendoza, of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which opposed the law, said it was an "attack against the family, which is society's natural group and is formed by a man and a woman."^[3] Other than that, the PCS drew little opposition. Bishop Raúl Vera, who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saltillo, declined to condemn the law. While Vera insisted that "two women or two men cannot get married," he also saw gay people as a vulnerable minority. "Today we live in a society that is composed in a different way. There are people who do not want to marry under the law or in the church. They need legal protection. I should not abandon these people."^[2]

Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live in the country.^[2] Twenty days after the law had passed, the country's first same-sex civil union took place in Saltillo between 29-year-olds Karina Almaguer and Karla López, a lesbian couple from Tamaulipas.^[4] Between 2007 and 2013, 426 same-sex couples entered into a PCS, of which 36 had been annulled by the end of 2013.^[5][6]

Political party	Members	Yes	No	Abstain	Absent
Institutional Revolutionary Party	20	19			1
National Action Party	9		9
Party of the Democratic Revolution	2		1		1
Democratic Unity of Coahuila	2		2
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico	1		1
Labor Party	1	1
Total	35	20	13		2

Same-sex marriage

Legislative action

On 5 March 2013, Congressman Samuel Acevedo Flores from the Social Democratic Party introduced bills to the Congress of Coahuila to legalize same-sex marriages and adoption by same-sex couples.^[7] On 11 February 2014, the Congress approved the adoption bill with a vote of 23 in favor and two against;^[8] however, debate on same-sex marriage continued. On 8 August 2014, the Congress again began discussions regarding same-sex marriage.^[9] The bill passed 19–1 on 1 September 2014, making Coahuila the second jurisdiction to reform its laws and the third jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage after Mexico City and Quintana Roo.^[10] The law was signed by Governor Rubén Moreira Valdez, and took effect on 17 September 2014.^[11] The first couple to marry were Jesus Fernando Covarrubias Monsivais and Luis Alberto Reyes Soto in Saltillo on 20 September.^[12] Article 139 of the Family Code now reads:

• in Spanish: El matrimonio es la unión de dos personas que consienten en realizar una comunidad de vida basada en el afecto, respeto, igualdad de trato y ayuda mutua, y toman de manera libre, responsable, voluntaria e informada, las decisiones reproductivas que se ajustan a su proyecto de vida, incluida la posibilidad de procrear o adoptar.

(Marriage is the union of two people who consent to carry out a community of life based on affection, respect, equal treatment and mutual aid, and freely, responsibly, voluntarily and informally take reproductive decisions in accordance with their life project, including the possibility of procreation and adoption.)

Political party[13]	Members	Yes	No	Abstain	Absent
Institutional Revolutionary Party	15	12			3
National Action Party	2	2
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico	2	1			1
New Alliance Party	2	2
Coahuila First Party	2	1			1
Social Democratic Party	1	1
Democratic Unity of Coahuila	1		1
Total	25	19	1		5

Statistics

The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila since legalization in 2014 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.^[14] Data published in August 2018 showed that about half of the same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila involved a partner from another state or country.^[15]

Number of marriages performed in Coahuila

Year	Same-sex			Opposite-sex	Total	% same-sex
	Female	Male	Total
2014	42	26	68	16,987	17,055	0.40%
2015	108	61	169	16,997	17,166	0.98%
2016	111	82	193	15,315	15,508	1.24%
2017	112	53	165	14,917	15,082	1.09%
2018	205	102	307	14,564	14,871	2.06%
2019	97	61	158	14,824	14,982	1.05%
2020	46	31	77	11,740	11,817	0.65%
2021	68	45	113	14,759	14,872	0.76%
2022	77	45	122	14,194	14,316	0.85%
2023	54	21	75	14,167	14,242	0.53%

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 44% of Coahuila residents supported same-sex marriage, while 52% were opposed.^[16] According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 47% of the Coahuila public opposed same-sex marriage.^[17]

See also

• LGBTQ portal
• Mexico portal

• Same-sex marriage in Mexico
• LGBT rights in Mexico
• Same-sex marriage in Mexico City

References

1. BBC News (10 November 2006). "Mexico City passes gay union law". Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
2. S. Lynne Walker (5 March 2007). "New law propels gay rights in Mexico". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
3. "Mexican state approves gay civil unions". Mail & Guardian. 13 January 2007. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
4. "Mexico's first civil union". Gay.com UK & Ireland. Associated Press. 1 February 2007. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
5. Karla Garza (17 January 2010). "Decaen pactos de convivencia en Coahuila" (in Spanish). Vanguardia. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
6. "Cae 50% pactos civiles de solidaridad". Milenio (in Spanish). 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
7. "Aprueban matrimonios gay en Coahuila". Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
8. "Aprueban adopción gay en Coahuila". 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
9. "Congreso en discusión del matrimonio homosexual en Coahuila". Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
10. "Aprueban matrimonios gay en Coahuila". Vangardia.com.mx. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
11. "Legales desde hoy matrimonios entre homosexuales en Coahuila". Vanguardia. 17 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
12. "First Gay Couple Marries in Coahuila, Mexico". On Top Magazine. 21 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
13. Hilda Hernández (1 September 2014). "Aprueba Congreso local bodas gays en Coahuila" (in Spanish). El Universal. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
14. "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
15. (in Spanish) Acaparan foráneos 50% de bodas gay, entre discriminación de mayoría en Coahuila Archived 22 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
16. (in Spanish) Encuesta nacional 2017 Archived 19 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica
17. (in Spanish) #Data | ¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay? Archived 16 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine