Marriage equality will be voted on again for the third time in Yucatan’s legislature.
The Supreme Court of Justice annulled the secret vote held in the Yucatan Congress and ordered that the procedure be repeated. The reform initiative was approved unanimously and now goes before a committee vote.
If the committee approves the initiative, in Yucatán, the term marriage or cohabitation “between man and woman” will disappear and will start to be “between persons.”
Since 2015, the National Supreme Court of Justice declared that laws and regulations that prevent same-sex marriages are unconstitutional. Yet almost a third of the states are reluctant to reform their laws.
More than 20 of the 32 states have adapted their legislation, most recently Sinaloa and Baja California in June.
Legislator Milagros Romero Bastarrachea requested the vote be in the open.
Article 19, the Colectivo de Protección de Todas las Familias de Yucatán, Indignación, Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos and the Unidad de Atención Sicológica, Sexológica y Educativa had filed amparos on the grounds that “the rights of transparency and participation” had been violated. Congress held a secret ballot in 2019, when the right was again denied.
Civic organizations and human rights collectives also called for the approval of proposals from Juan L. González Alcántara Carrancá and Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena.
These organizations argue that the proposals favor transparency and the democratic values of the Yucatecan citizenry.
According to the Colectivo por la Protección de Todas las Familias en Yucatán, a favorable decision by the court could also nullify the 2019 legislative process, forcing the Yucatán Congress to vote openly on the ruling.
Read more: Allies join the fight for marriage equality in Yucatán
