Same-sex marriage in Quintana Roo

Same-sex marriages are performed and recognized in all municipalities in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.[1] The first two same-sex marriages occurred in Kantunilkin in Lázaro Cárdenas Municipality on 28 November 2011 after it was discovered that the state's Civil Code does not specify sex or gender requirements for marriage. However, future same-sex marriages were suspended in January 2012 upon review by Quintana Roo's Secretary of State.[2] The two same-sex marriages in the state were annulled by the Governor of Quintana Roo in April 2012, but these annulments were reversed by the Secretary of State in May. The Secretary of State's decision also allows for future same-sex marriages to be performed in Quintana Roo.[3]

History

Same-sex unions performed in Mexican states

  Same-sex marriages performed.*
Stripes: Proportion of municipal coverage.

  Civil unions performed; marriage by amparo only.

  Marriage not performed (except by amparo) despite Supreme Court order.

  Marriage accessible by amparo or by traveling out of state.

*Legislation is not equal in all states. See details.

The Civil Code of Quintana Roo does not define gender requirements for marriage, specifying only "people interested in getting married".[4] A same-sex couple, Patricia Novelo and Areli Castro, filed for a marriage license in Cancún and Chetumal after discovering this legal quirk, but both cities rejected their applications, arguing that a man-woman marriage was implied. The couple then applied in Lázaro Cárdenas Municipality, where authorities accepted the application. Quintana Roo's first two same-sex marriages were held in the community of Kantunilkín on 28 November 2011.[5]

Cancún and other resort areas in Quintana Roo planned to hold a same-sex group wedding in January 2012.[6] Newspaper Reforma reported that upcoming ceremonies were suspended following an order by Quintana Roo Secretary of State Luis González Flores to review the legality of the ceremonies.[7][8] In April 2012, both marriages were annulled by Roberto Borge Angulo, the Governor of Quintana Roo.[7] In May 2012, the Secretary of State reversed the annulments.[9] The next month, both marriages became legal because there was no estoppel in due time.[10] It was also announced that same-sex marriages are legal in all the municipalities of Quintana Roo.[10] However, in 2013, a lesbian couple were denied the right to marry and forced to obtain an injunction in Tulum. The court concluded discriminatory acts had occurred and ordered the state to prevent further discrimination against homosexuals, requiring all Civil Registry offices in Quintana Roo to have marriage license applications for same-sex couples.[11]

In September 2014, Bacalar Municipality approved changes in the Civil Registry to equalize procedures for all marriages.[12] Officials in Playa del Carmen announced that same-sex couples were allowed to marry in the municipality as of the last week of September 2014.[13] The municipality of Othón P. Blanco announced that their first same-sex marriage would occur on 26 November 2014.[14] The first same-sex couple to be married in Playa del Carmen were wed on 27 December 2014.[15] The municipality of José María Morelos announced in 2017 that it had equalized procedures for all marriages. Marriage services are also available in Yucatec Maya.[16]

Legislative action

In November 2014, it was announced that a bill to officially legalize same-sex marriage in the state would be introduced and voted on in the current legislative session, thereby replacing the loophole used by couples.[17] In May 2017, after legislative inaction, a new same-sex marriage bill was introduced to the state Congress.[18]

Adoption by same-sex couples

In January 2018, a married same-sex couple in Puerto Morelos were granted the right to register their child. In April 2018, with the help of the Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos, a same-sex couple in the city of Cancún were also allowed to register their newborn son.[19]

Marriage statistics

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography began recording the number of same-sex marriages performed in Quintana Roo in 2018, as shown in the table below.[20]

Number of marriages performed in Quintana Roo

Year	Same-sex			Opposite-sex	Total	% same-sex
	Female	Male	Total
2018	96	67	163	10,518	10,681	1.53%

As of mid-December 2014, officials announced that there had been 14 same-sex marriages in Quintana Roo.[21]

According to 2018 data from the Civil Registry, most same-sex marriages in the state took place in the northern region, particularly the municipalities of Benito Juárez, Solidaridad, Cozumel, Puerto Morelos, Isla Mujeres and Tulum, but also Bacalar in the south.[22] From January to August 2018, only 3 same-sex marriages were performed in Othón P. Blanco Municipality. In that same time period, one same-sex couple wed in José María Morelos Municipality.[16]

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 56% of Quintana Roo residents supported same-sex marriage. 37.5% were opposed.[23]

According to a 2018 survey by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), 38% of the Quintana Roo public opposed same-sex marriage.[24]

See also

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

References

1. Vázquez, Jesús (18 July 2012). "Bodas gay generan interés en el sector turismo de Quintana Roo". El Economista (in Spanish). El Economista S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
2. "Same-sex marriages put on hold in Cancun resort areas". San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
3. Varillas, Adriana (3 May 2012). "Revocan anulación de bodas gay en QRoo". El Universal (in Spanish). El Universal Compañia Periodística Nacional S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
4. EFE (29 December 2011). "Cancun Plans to Pass Gay Marriage Bill to Attract Tourists". Fox News Latino. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
5. Brisa Muñoz (30 November 2011). "Sin hacer una reforma legal, Quintana Roo realiza sus primeras bodas gay" (in Spanish). CNN México. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
6. Brisa Muñoz (2 December 2011). "Dos matrimonios homosexuales se casaron en un municipio conservador" (in Spanish). CNN México. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
7. Santana, Rosa (17 April 2012). "Anula gobernador de Quintana Roo dos bodas gay; lo acusan de homofóbico". Proceso (in Spanish). Comunicación e Información, S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
8. "Gay Marriage In Cancun, Mexico Suspended". On Top Magazine. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
9. Sánchez, Manuel (4 May 2012). "Legalizan los matrimonios gay" (in Spanish). Diario Respuesta. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
10. Varillas, Adriana (5 June 2012). "Matrimonio gay celebra su unión en QRoo". El Universal (in Spanish). El Universal Compañia Periodística Nacional S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
11. "In English - First gay marriage is celebrated in Tulum". El Universal. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
12. "Bacalar modifica Reglamento del Registro Civil para bodas gay | UN1ÓN | Cancún". Unioncancun.mx. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
13. Grupo SIPSE. "Dan luz verde a bodas gay en Playa del Carmen". Sipse.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
14. Nombre (requerido) (23 November 2014). "Alistan primera boda gay en Chetumal". Noticaribe. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
15. Grupo SIPSE. "Se registra el primer matrimonio gay en Solidaridad". Sipse.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
16. (in Spanish) Registro Civil ofrece bodas gay y actas digitalizadas en maya
17. (in Spanish) Ingresan al Congreso uniones gay Archived 4 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
18. (in Spanish) Quintana Roo garantiza derechos de comunidad LGBTI
19. (in Spanish) Autorizan registrar al hijo de matrimonio gay
20. "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish).
21. Grupo SIPSE. "Quintana Roo se abre paso en realización de bodas rosas". Sipse.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
22. (in Spanish) Parejas del mismo sexo prefieren casarse frente al mar
23. (in Spanish) Encuesta nacional 2017, Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica
24. "¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay?". El Sol de México (in Spanish). 15 April 2019.