Same-sex marriage in Nuevo León
Same-sex marriage became legal in the Mexican state of Nuevo León on 31 May 2019, with a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation on 19 February 2019 striking down articles 140 and 148 of the Civil Code which banned same-sex marriage. The SCJN further removed the requirement for individuals to obtain an amparo for same-sex marriage in the state.
By statute, in Mexico, if any five rulings from the courts on a single issue result in the same outcome, legislatures are bound to change the law. In the case of Nuevo León, almost 20 individual injunctions were decided with the same outcome, yet the state did not act. In February 2019, the SCJN issued a definitive ruling in an action of unconstitutionality, declaring the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, void and unenforceable. The ruling came into effect on 31 May upon publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
History
Legislative action
On 17 June 2015, the New Alliance Party announced their intention to introduce a same-sex marriage bill. An independent congressman announced his intention to submit his own civil union proposal with the support of the ruling PAN. On 22 June 2015, New Alliance member and Congress President, María Dolores Leal Cantú, presented the same-sex marriage bill. On 16 May 2016, the president of the Legislative Commission of the State Congress announced that the bill would be voted on sometime in September, but this did not happen.In November 2017, the state's PAN leader announced that the Nuevo León Congress would not discuss the same-sex marriage bill. His statement came after LGBT groups organized a protest in favor of same-sex marriage in front of the Congress building.
Injunctions
Despite same-sex marriage not being legal at the time, several same-sex couples were able to legally marry in individual cases, through a process called recurso de amparo.In September 2013, a federal judge ordered the Civil Registry of Nuevo León to register the marriage of a female same-sex couple. Governor Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz said his administration would abide by the order, but only for that specific case.
On 13 November 2013, a male same-sex couple went to the Civil Registry office in San Pedro Garza García and made an application for a marriage license. They were told to expect a response within one week. In December 2013, they filed a complaint with the help of the Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Nuevo León against the Registry for failure to provide them with an official response.
In June 2014, it was reported that nine injunctions had been filed in the state, but only one had been resolved. By October 2018, 17 amparos had been granted in the state.
The State Constitutional Court held a hearing on 12 September 2014 to rule on an amparo filed by 50 people claiming that Articles 147 and 291 of the Civil Code were discriminatory for banning same-sex marriage. On 16 October 2014, the Supreme Court declared the two articles unconstitutional and granted an injunction to the plaintiffs.
In March 2015, it was confirmed that an amparo for 35 couples was pending in Nuevo León.
On 17 February 2016, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court ordered the Governor of Nuevo León, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, to recognize cohabitation between same-sex couples.
In September 2016, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court declared various articles in the state's Civil Code unconstitutional for limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. On 19 October 2017, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court declared Article 147 of the Civil Code of Nuevo León unconstitutional for discriminating against same-sex couples.
On 9 October 2018, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that Nuevo León's Civil Code was unconstitutional and discriminatory because it limited marriage to different-sex couples. The court ordered the state Congress to change its Civil Code within 180 business days. However, in February 2019 prior to that deadline, the Supreme Court ruled in an action of unconstitutionality against the state, legalizing same-sex marriage.
Action of unconstitutionality
An action of unconstitutionality against Nuevo León's same-sex marriage ban was filed in February 2018. Actions of unconstitutionality are different from the recurso de amparo process mentioned above, as the Supreme Court can directly and completely strike down a state law. The amparo process, on the other hand, requires the state legislatures to act and change the law. As such, many legislatures have chosen to intentionally delay or simply ignore these amparo rulings. Another difference is that actions of unconstitutionality can only be filed within 30 days after the law in question has gone into effect. In this case, the Congress of Nuevo León modified its marriage laws, but left intact provisions outlawing same-sex marriages. This qualified for an action of unconstitutionality, which LGBT groups quickly filed.On 19 February 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that articles 140 and 148 of the Civil Code were unconstitutional for banning same-sex marriage, legalizing such marriages in the state of Nuevo León. Governor Jaime Rodríguez Calderón expressed his opposition to the ruling, and religious groups opposed to same-sex marriage asked Calderón to override or ignore the ruling, however, he does not have the power to do so. Congress was officially notified of the ruling on 26 February.
The ruling officially came into force on 31 May 2019 upon publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation. In the meantime, the Civil Registry began allowing same-sex couples to marry without the need for an injunction. The first couple, Janeth Oliva and Amatzú Aranda, married on 11 March 2019 in San Nicolás de los Garza.
The Supreme Court ruling also struck down the state's same-sex adoption ban.
Public opinion
A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 48% of Nuevo León residents supported same-sex marriage. 49% were opposed.According to a 2018 survey by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, 44% of the Nuevo León public opposed same-sex marriage.