State of Colima in Mexico Approves Same-Sex Marriages Monday July 29,2013

Lawmakers in Mexico’s western state of Colima have approved a change in the state’s constitution that legalizes same-sex civil unions

Colima state spokeswoman Cecilia Ramirez says the legislature approved the constitutional change late Monday after seven of the state’s 10 municipalities approved the reform. 

At present,Mexican same-sex marriages are allowed in Mexico City, the southern state of Oaxaca and the state of Quintana Roo, home to the resort city of Cancun. The northern state of Coahuila began allowing same-sex civil unions in 2007.

  Gay couple kiss each other after getting married at a courthouse in Mexico City, on July 14, 2013

Note

• On 5 August 2010, the Mexican Supreme Court voted 8-2 to uphold the constitutionality of Mexico City's same-sex marriage law. The Court later ruled on August 10, 2010, that Mexico City marriages are valid throughout the entire country

• Since August 2010, same-sex marriages performed within Mexico are recognized by the 31 states without exception, and fundamental spousal rights (such as alimony payments, inheritance rights and the coverage of spouses by the federal social security system) also apply to same-sex couples across Mexico

• On November 28,2011, the first two same-sex marriages occurred in Quintana Roo after discovering that Quintana Roo's Civil Code did not explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage, but these marriages were later annulled by the Governor of Quintana Roo in April 2012.In May 2012, the Secretary of State of Quintana Roo reversed the annulments and allowed for future same-sex marriages to be performed in the state