Mexico’s Supreme Court upheld same-sex marriage and struck down provisions in laws passed in Nuevo Leon, Chiapas and Hidalgo that define marriage as an act between one man and one woman for the purpose of procreation.
Members of the LGBT community had argued against the constitutionality of the laws passed in those states, according to the Mexico City newspaper El Universal.
The plaintiffs also sought damages because they claimed that the discriminatory laws barred them from getting married or enjoying their rights as partners.
But the court ruled that considering the laws in question as unconstitutional and reinstating their rights was sufficient compensation.
Increasing institutional support for marriage equality in Mexico has met with some backlash, however, most visibly in the form of large public demonstrations.
Pope Francis even intervened, expressing his support for Mexicans campaigning against the government’s push to legalize same-sex marriage.
The pontiff’s comments came as tens of thousands of demonstrators in Mexico took to the streets, led by far-right nationalist party Frente Nacional por la Familia (National Front for the Family), to protest against President Enrique Peña Nieto’s proposal to legalize same-sex marriage and demanding parents’ right to control sex education in schools.
In June, the Supreme Court in Mexico effectively legalized same-sex marriage in a landmark legal ruling that concluded it was unconstitutional for states to bar same-sex marriages.
Same-sex marriage is now legal in the capital Mexico City and nine of the 31 Mexican states, including Campeche and Quintana Roo. In Yucatán, applicants must petition the court before a same-sex wedding can be performed.
