Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto Proposes Constitutionalizing Gay Marriage

While celebrating International Day Against Homophobia in Mexico, President Enrique Peña Nieto gave a speech where he proposed to make gay marriage a constitutional right across the country. This comes after Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage and said restricting the act was unconstitutional.

To do so, Peña said he will look into reforming Article 4 in order to support the Supreme Court’s ruling “to recognize as a human right that people can enter into marriage without any kind of discrimination.”

Meaning, marriages are to be “carried out without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or nationality, of disabilities, of social or health conditions, of religion, of gender or sexual preference,” he continued.

Since 2009, several actions have been taken to achieve the legalization of gay marriage. Between then and now, five states have approved the civil union between members of the LGBT community, legal marriage was approved in three states -- Mexico City, Coahuila and Quintana Roo -- and Institutions that provide benefits and health services agreed to treat couples of the same sex equally.

However, there is a lot to be done still. Last year’s Supreme Court ruling explained that, “as the purpose of matrimony is not procreation, there is no justified reason that the matrimonial union be heterosexual, nor that it be stated as between only a man and only a woman. Such a statement turns out to be discriminatory in its mere expression.” This is why Peña thinks this should be instituted as a human right across Mexico.

Up to June 2015, 5, 297 couples have gotten married in Mexico City since same-sex marriage was legalized in 2009. As for the rest of the country, same-sex couples that have wanted to get married in their states have had to sue in court in each particular case.

The Mexican presidency’s Twitter account changed its avatar to a rainbow flag in celebration of this day and in hopes that Peña can constitutionalize the right nationwide soon enough.