Merida, Yucatan — A law allowing same-sex marriage in Yucatan crossed a hurdle Tuesday when a committee advanced the measure to the entire legislature.
After weighing over 14,000 public comments gathered online, the Commission of Constitutional Points and Governance approved marriage equality in the state with a majority vote.
The measure was approved by lawmakers from the PRI, Movimiento Ciudadano, PRD and Morena parties. Members of the PAN, which has a stronghold in Yucatan, were opposed.
Today the measure will be submitted before lawmakers during a general session. Because it is a constitutional reform, a two-thirds vote is required to pass the bill. That means gay marriage requires a “yes” vote from 17 out of 25 lawmakers.
Then, if it passes, the measure will to be sent to Yucatan’s 106 city councils for consideration. There, it requires at least 50 percent of the municipalities, plus one, to advance into law.
Tuesday’s session of the Constitutional Points and Governance Commission was filled with people both in favor and against unions between people of the same sex.
States are under pressure from the nation’s high court to approve same-sex marriage. Marriage equality became law in Mexico City in 2009, and in 2010, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages carried out legally in Mexico City must be recognized in every jurisdiction in Mexico.
Same-sex marriage in Mexico is performed without restriction in Mexico City and Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla and Quintana Roo, as well as in certain municipalities in Oaxaca and Querétaro.
Legislation to change the laws on the subject has been proposed in almost every state.
