Jalisco Shows Its Resounding ‘Pride’ With New Law Changes Alex Temblador - WeAreMitú
go to original June 7, 2022

In April, the Mexican state of Jalisco, home to major cities like Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, updated their civil code to define marriage as “the union of two people freely and in a community with respect, mutual help and equal rights and obligations,” according to Mexico Daily Post.

At the same time, lawmakers introduced something equally as important to the civil code: an official recognition of transgender persons and their right to update their legal documents, including their birth certificate. Sanctions against conversion therapies, which are harmful practices that intend to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, were added too.

Alex Serratos, a Guadalajara-based LGBTQ+ activist, cultural developer and CEO of nonprofit Taller Ciudad AC, was very happy with the ruling. “Many people have been fighting for this cause for 40 years,” he said. “I’m very proud, not just to be part of the LGBT community, but to be part of this cultural LGBT and diversity movement [in the state], which involves a lot of straight people who are close to the community. I feel very embraced by them.”

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Jalisco since 2016, when the Mexican Supreme Court found that Jalisco’s civil code had unconstitutional articles that solely defined marriage between a “man” and a “woman.” The ruling required that the state update its civil code to be inclusive of all gender identities, which is what they did last month.

And for transgender people, especially, the new updates are an incredible step forward.

“This is very important for the transgender community, because they have to fight a lot for their rights,” Serratos said. “Of course, we have a lot of work to do, but Jalisco is the only state in the country that is moving in this direction and is working to look at the laws to see what needs to be changed.”

The updates to Jalisco’s civil code come at a time when we’ve seen drastic setbacks in LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. For perspective, Florida passed it’s “Don’t Say Gay Bill” in March 2022, and in May, the U.S. Justice Department sued Alabama over a law that seeks to criminalize certain medical care for transgender children.

Although Mexico is a conservatively Catholic country, Jalisco has been a refuge of progress and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community since the 1980s when Guadalajara began hosting a Pride parade. It led Guadalajara to become known as the “gayest city” in Mexico, with many giving it the same moniker for all of Latin America.

Read the rest at WeAreMitú

Related: Puerto Vallarta Will Have a Special Gay Police Unit (Mexico Daily Post)

Related: Congress of Nayarit Will Analyze the Change of Gender Identity in Minors (El Occidental)

Related: One Trans Woman's Journey to U.S. Soil (San Diego Union Tribune)

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