Currently Mexican consulates are allowed to reject same-sex couples who wish to marry abroad.
Mexico could be about to change its marriage laws to make it easier for same-sex couples living abroad to get married. Couples wishing to get married abroad currently have to go to a consulate to have them authorised and get marriage certificates, however, the consulates are able to reject them.
Under the new proposed law, the consulates will no longer be allowed to block the marriages. This is especially pertinent as although same-sex marriage is legal in some Mexican states, like Mexico City or Morelos, it isn’t enforced country-wide.
Senator José Alejandro Peña Villa proposed the law, and LGBTQ Nation reports that he hit back at some Mexican consulates that claimed that they didn’t have the necessary powers in order to carry out wedding ceremonies.
“According to the Law of the Mexican Foreign Service and its Regulations, the consular authorities are authorized to act as judges of the Civil Registry and, therefore, have the power to take birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as to issue the certified copy correspondent,” he said when proposing the bill.
Villa belongs to the left-leaning Morena party, and he spoke about how the party views marriage equality as a human rights issue. “In Morena, we are convinced and committed to the human rights agenda. We have a different direction and we have an inclusive policy,” he said.
Despite Mexico having many LGBTQ rights, the country still isn’t the safest for the LGBTQ community. Earlier this year, three LGBTQ activists, Carlos Uriel Lopez, Roberto Vega and community leader Ruben Estrada were kidnapped and tortured by a group who abducted them from a nightclub. Their bodies were later found on a highway.
Evidence and witness testimonies suggest that the killings were motivated by an extortion plot. Four men have been arrested for possession of weapons and drugs, while another is a suspect in their murder.
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