# Same-sex marriage in Coahuila

No short description per [[WP:SDNONE]]
Part of the LGBTQ rights series :
Legal status of same-sex unions :
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See also
Same-sex union legislation
Same-sex union court cases
Timeline of same-sex marriage
Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa
Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia
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Notes
1 2 Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
1 2 Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
↑ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
1 2 3 4 5 The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
↑ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
↑ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
↑ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
↑ Indian courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Most Japanese cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.
↑ Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
↑ Not yet in effect. :
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vte :
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Coahuila since 17 September 2014. On 1 September 2014, the Congress of Coahuila approved legislation opening marriage to same-sex couples by 19 votes to 1. The law was signed by Governor Rubén Moreira Valdez, and went into force on 1 September. Prior to the law's passage, civil unions for same-sex couples were legal, but not same-sex marriage. The Congress passed a bill legalising civil unions in January 2007.
The passage of the same-sex marriage bill made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico, and the first state (as Mexico City is not a state), to pass same-sex marriage via legislative means. Only Mexico City and the state of Quintana Roo allowed for same-sex marriage prior to Coahuila.

## Civil unions

Discussion on the legalization of same-sex civil unions in Coahuila started as early as November 2006, simultaneously with the discussion then ongoing in Mexico City. On 11 January 2007, the Congress of Coahuila voted 20–13 to legalize same-sex civil unions under the name pacto civil de solidaridad (PCS, Spanish pronunciation:), which gave property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples; similar to France's civil solidarity pact and Germany's registered life partnership. The legislation was signed by Governor Humberto Moreira. This made Coahuila the second jurisdiction in Mexico after Mexico City to recognize same-sex unions.
"The PCS represented a sensible response to the existence of citizens who traditionally have been victims of discrimination, humiliation and abuse. This does not have to do with morality. It has to do with legality. As human beings, we have to protect them as they are. It has to do with civil liberty," said Congresswoman Julieta López Fuentes from the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose members voted for the law. Deputy Luis Alberto Mendoza, of the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which opposed the law, said it was an "attack against the family, which is society's natural group and is formed by a man and a woman." Other than that, the PCS drew little opposition. Bishop Raúl Vera, who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saltillo, declined to condemn the law. While Vera insisted that "two women or two men cannot get married," he also saw gay people as a vulnerable minority. "Today we live in a society that is composed in a different way. There are people who do not want to marry under the law or in the church. They need legal protection. I should not abandon these people."
Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live in the country. Twenty days after the law had passed, the country's first same-sex civil union took place in Saltillo between 29-year-olds Karina Almaguer and Karla López, a lesbian couple from Tamaulipas. Between 2007 and 2013, 426 same-sex couples entered into a PCS, of which 36 had been annulled by the end of 2013.
11 January 2007 vote in the Congress of Coahuila :
| Political party | Members | Yes | No | Absent |
| Institutional Revolutionary Party | 20 | 19 | | 1 |
| National Action Party | 9 | | 9 | |
| Party of the Democratic Revolution | 2 | | 1 | 1 |
| Democratic Unity of Coahuila | 2 | | 2 | |
| Ecologist Green Party of Mexico | 1 | | 1 | |
| Labor Party | 1 | 1 | | |
| Total | 35 | 20 | 13 | 2 |

## Same-sex marriage
### Legislative action

On 5 March 2013, Congressman Samuel Acevedo Flores from the Social Democratic Party introduced bills to the Congress of Coahuila to legalize same-sex marriages and adoption by same-sex couples. On 11 February 2014, the Congress approved the adoption bill with a vote of 23 in favor and two against; however, debate on same-sex marriage continued. On 8 August 2014, the Congress again began discussions regarding same-sex marriage. The bill passed 19–1 on 1 September 2014, making Coahuila the second jurisdiction to reform its laws and the third jurisdiction in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage after Mexico City and Quintana Roo. The law was signed by Governor Rubén Moreira Valdez, and took effect on 17 September 2014. The first couple to marry were Jesus Fernando Covarrubias Monsivais and Luis Alberto Reyes Soto in Saltillo on 20 September. Article 139 of the Family Code now reads:
* in Spanish: El matrimonio es la unión de dos personas que consienten en realizar una comunidad de vida basada en el afecto, respeto, igualdad de trato y ayuda mutua, y toman de manera libre, responsable, voluntaria e informada, las decisiones reproductivas que se ajustan a su proyecto de vida, incluida la posibilidad de procrear o adoptar.
    (Marriage is the union of two people who consent to carry out a community of life based on affection, respect, equal treatment and mutual aid, and freely, responsibly, voluntarily and informally take reproductive decisions in accordance with their life project, including the possibility of procreation and adoption.)
1 September 2014 vote in the Congress of Coahuila :
| Political party | Members | Yes | No | Absent |
| Institutional Revolutionary Party | 15 | 12 | | 3 |
| National Action Party | 2 | 2 | | |
| Ecologist Green Party of Mexico | 2 | 1 | | 1 |
| New Alliance Party | 2 | 2 | | |
| Coahuila First Party | 2 | 1 | | 1 |
| Social Democratic Party | 1 | 1 | | |
| Democratic Unity of Coahuila | 1 | | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 19 | 1 | 5 |

### Statistics

The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila since legalization in 2014 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. Data published in August 2018 showed that about half of the same-sex marriages performed in Coahuila involved a partner from another state or country.
Number of marriages performed in Coahuila :
| Year | Same-sex | Same-sex | Same-sex | Opposite-sex | Total | % same-sex |
| Year | Female | Male | Total | Opposite-sex | Total | % same-sex |
| 2014 | 42 | 26 | 68 | 16,987 | 17,055 | 0.40% |
| 2015 | 108 | 61 | 169 | 16,997 | 17,166 | 0.98% |
| 2016 | 111 | 82 | 193 | 15,315 | 15,508 | 1.24% |
| 2017 | 112 | 53 | 165 | 14,917 | 15,082 | 1.09% |
| 2018 | 205 | 102 | 307 | 14,564 | 14,871 | 2.06% |
| 2019 | 97 | 61 | 158 | 14,824 | 14,982 | 1.05% |
| 2020 | 46 | 31 | 77 | 11,740 | 11,817 | 0.65% |
| 2021 | 68 | 45 | 113 | 14,759 | 14,872 | 0.76% |
| 2022 | 77 | 45 | 122 | 14,194 | 14,316 | 0.85% |
| 2023 | 54 | 21 | 75 | 14,167 | 14,242 | 0.53% |

## Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 44% of Coahuila residents supported same-sex marriage, while 52% were opposed. According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 47% of the Coahuila public opposed same-sex marriage.