The Dance Begins: Five Same-Sex Couples Denied Marriage Certificates in Tijuana Ken Williams - SDGLN
go to original January 23, 2015

1st same-sex marriage in the Mexican state of Baja California (rexwockner)

TIJUANA, Baja California - The same-sex marriage dance has now begun in Tijuana, San Diego's sister city south of the border.

Five same-sex couples this week have applied for marriage licenses and have been denied, according to local media. This action was fully expected, since Baja California's Article 143 of the Civil Code prohibits gay marriage.

Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that gay-marriage bans are unconstitutional, but Baja California has refused to change its Civil Code to reflect that high court decision.

But last weekend, a gay couple got married in Mexicali, another large city in Baja California. The two men had been denied a marriage license because of Article 143, triggering a long legal process that began in June 2013 and ended with an order, or amparo, from Mexico's Supreme Court to allow them to have a wedding.

The high court has already ruled that same-sex marriages cannot be banned, but a quirk in the nation's law requires a state-by-state solution before marriage equality can become universal in Mexico. After six same-sex weddings in a particular state, marriage equality becomes legal throughout that state.

The five same-sex couples in Tijuana will now have to work the legal system before they can get an order from the Supreme Court. That takes time and money, but it will happen eventually. And that means that marriage equality will be the law of Baja California regardless of the resistance by state lawmakers.

SDGLN reported on Monday that Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazarán Orcí told the Frontera newspaper that his city would marry same-sex couples if they meet the government's requirements.

Read the rest at SDGLN

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