Same-sex marriage in Puerto Rico
Same-sex marriage in Puerto Rico has been legal since July 13, 2015, as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in "Obergefell v. Hodges". On June 26, 2015, the court ruled that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. Same-sex couples could begin applying for marriage licenses on July 13, 2015, and the first marriages occurred on July 17, 2015. Governor Alejandro García Padilla announced that the commonwealth would comply with the Supreme Court's ruling within  15 days. The parties to the principal lawsuit challenging Puerto Rico's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples jointly asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling of the Puerto Rican District Court that had upheld Puerto Rico's ban on same-sex marriage, which the appeals court did on July 8, 2015. Background. On March 19, 1999, Governor Pedro Rosselló signed into law "H.B. 1013", which defined marriage as "a civil contract whereby a man and a woman mutually agree to become husband and wife." Article 68 of the Civil Code also explicitly prohibited  marriages "between persons of the same sex or transsexuals contracted in other jurisdictions" from being recognized in Puerto Rico. On June 1, 2020, Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced signed into law a new civil code that repealed article 68 and removed provisions banning same-sex marriage. The new code uses gender-neutral language with regards to married spouses, and ensures recognition of same-sex unions entered into in other jurisdictions. The code went into effect on November 28, 2020. Article 376 of the new code reads: "Marriage is a civil institution, originating in a civil contract whereby two natural persons mutually  agree to become spouses and to discharge toward each other the duties imposed by law." During a debate on civil unions in 2007, Attorney General Roberto Sánchez Ramos said it might be unconstitutional to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples. In 2008, the Senate of Puerto Rico passed a proposed referendum that would have asked voters to amend Puerto Rico's Constitution to define marriage as a "union between a man and a woman", while also banning same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. Known as "resolución 99" (resolution 99), the proposed referendum was not approved by  the House of Representatives, after the legislative committee studying the proposal decided not to recommend its approval. A similar bill was defeated in 2009. In early January 2010, Governor Luis Fortuño suggested to a group of evangelical ministers that he favored amending the Puerto Rico Constitution to restrict marriage to the union of one man and one woman. Shortly afterwards, he categorically denied that he favored such a measure. Section::::"Conde-Vidal v. Garcia-Padilla". On March 25, 2014, two women residing in Puerto Rico, represented by Lambda Legal, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico seeking  recognition of their 2004 marriage in Massachusetts. They initially named as defendants in their suit, "Conde-Vidal v. Rius-Amendariz", Puerto Rico's Secretary of Health and Registrar of Vital Statistics, later adding Governor Alejandro García Padilla and the treasury director, retitling the case "Conde-Vidal v. Garcia-Padilla". The plaintiffs argued that Puerto Rico's marriage law denied them constitutional rights guaranteed under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. Four more couples joined as plaintiffs in June. On August 28, Christian Chaplains, "Capellanes Internacionales Cristianos León de Judá", asked to be allowed to  intervene in the suit on behalf of its eight members who reside in Puerto Rico. They claimed that if the court rules for the plaintiffs they "will be obligated by law to marry same-sex couples." On October 17, Judge Juan M. Pérez-Giménez denied the group's request. Judge Pérez-Giménez dismissed the plaintiff's lawsuit on October 21, 2014, ruling that the United States Supreme Court's ruling in the 1972 case "Baker v. Nelson" prevented him from considering the plaintiffs' arguments. He concluded that Puerto Rico's definition of marriage did not conflict with the U.S. Constitution  and that: The plaintiffs appealed the decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 20, 2015, the Puerto Rico Secretary of Justice, César Miranda, announced that the Commonwealth would tell the First Circuit that it had decided that Puerto Rico's statute banning the licensing and recognition of same-sex marriage was legally indefensible. Governor Alejandro García Padilla said that "legal developments in a number of American jurisdictions point to an undeniable consensus" against the discrimination found in Puerto Rico's statutes with respect to the right of same-sex couples to marry. Puerto Rico's brief said  that "Baker v. Nelson" was no longer controlling, that "Puerto Rico's marriage ban must be examined through heightened scrutiny", and that "the Commonwealth cannot responsibly advance ... any interest sufficiently important or compelling to justify the differentiated treatment afforded to same-sex couples". It asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the judgment of the District Court. On April 14, 2015, the First Circuit suspended proceedings until after a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on marriage cases it was considering on appeal from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court asked the parties to file a proposed  schedule for further proceedings in "Conde-Vidal" within 14 days of the Supreme Court's decision. The First Circuit ruled in the case on July 8, 2015, overturning the territory's statutory ban on same-sex marriage and remanding the case back to the District Court. On 8 March 2016, Judge Pérez-Giménez ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in "Obergefell v. Hodges" did not apply to Puerto Rico, and so upheld the ban on same-sex marriage, in conflict with the First Circuit Court's directions. In response, Governor García Padilla said he would respect the rulings  of superior courts which have struck down same-sex marriage bans, ensuring same-sex marriages continue in Puerto Rico. An appeal of Judge Pérez-Giménez's ruling was promptly lodged to the First Circuit Court, which on April 8, 2016 issued an unsigned opinion rejecting the lower court's ruling and granted the request from the parties challenging the ban that the appeals court issue an order "requiring the district court to enter judgment in their favor striking down the ban as unconstitutional." The Circuit Court also ordered that the case "be assigned randomly by the clerk to a different  judge (of the lower court) to enter judgment in favor of the Petitioners promptly." On April 11, 2016, Judge Gustavo Gelpí of the Puerto Rican District Court issued a declaratory judgement striking down Puerto Rico's same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional and declaring that any marriage of a same-sex couple performed in the territory since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in "Obergefell" be fully recognized by government agencies and officials. Section::::"Obergefell v. Hodges". On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in "Obergefell v. Hodges" that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment . That same day, all parties to "Conde-Vidal" asked the First Circuit to overrule the district court as soon as possible. Governor García Padilla said he would issue an executive order requiring all Puerto Rican government agencies to implement the "Obergefell" ruling within 15 days. The first same-sex couples began applying for marriage licenses on July 13, 2015, and the first marriages took place on July 17, 2015. Among the first couples to marry were Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro and Zulma Oliveras Vega, plaintiffs in "Conde-Vidal", who married in Santurce, San Juan on July 17. A group of lawmakers  from the New Progressive Party filed a last-ditch attempt to block the recognition and issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but the Puerto Rico Supreme Court dismissed the measure on July 16, ruling that "Puerto Rico cannot refuse to recognize marriages between people of the same sex. This is the current law.". Marriage statistics. According to the Puerto Rico Department of Health, approximately 260 same-sex couples married from July to December 2015. 422 same-sex couples had married by June 2016. The Department of Health estimated that 261 same-sex marriages occurred in 2015, of  which 96 (36.8%) were between male couples and 165 (63.2%) between lesbian couples. 637 same-sex marriages were performed in 2016 according to the department; 271 (42.5%) betwen male couples and 366 (57.5%) between lesbian couples. In total, same-sex marriages represented 1.5% and 4.0% of all marriages those two years. Compared to heterosexual unions, partners in same-sex marriages were older when getting married, especially in 2015, when an estimated 20-30% of same-sex marriages involved partners over the age of 55 (compared to about 10% for heterosexual couples). Public opinion. According to a Pew Research Center survey  conducted between November 7, 2013 and February 28, 2014, 33% of Puerto Ricans supported same-sex marriage, while 55% were opposed.