Mexican Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

As the United States awaits a landmark decision on gay marriage by the Supreme Court, the Mexican court’s rulings have added the country to a slowly growing list of Latin American nations permitting same-sex unions, the New York Times reports:

• Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil already allow same-sex marriage. 
• Chile plans to recognize same-sex civil unions this year.
• Ecuador approved civil unions in April.
• Colombia grants same-sex couples many of the same rights extended to heterosexual married couples.
• In 2009, Mexico City, a federal district and large liberal island in the socially conservative country of Mexico, legalized gay marriage — a first in Latin America. 
• There have been 5,297 same-sex weddings in Mexico City since 2009.

But the majority of states in Mexico recognize marriage to be between a man and a woman. The Supreme Court decided these states must recognize same-sex marriages that are performed in Mexico City. 

The court recently took this a step further and granted gay couples the right to get married in their own state, even if state laws did not recognize same-sex marriages. 

As of this month, the court "expanded on its rulings to issue a decree that any state law restricting marriage to heterosexuals is discriminatory," states the New York Times.

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