Same-sex marriage in Baja California


Same-sex marriage became legal in the Mexican state of Baja California on 3 November 2017. On that day, the State Government announced that it would cease to enforce its same-sex marriage ban and that the Civil Registry would begin accepting applications for marriage licenses by same-sex couples. This was in line with jurisprudence established by the Mexican Supreme Court, which has ruled that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional. Additionally, same-sex couples are allowed to adopt in the state.

History

On 23 August 2010, shortly after the ruling of the Mexican Supreme Court requiring all states to recognise same-sex marriages validly performed in another state, state legislators introduced an amendment to article 7 of the Constitution of the State of Baja California, adding the definition of marriage as being the union of a man and a woman. On 29 September 2010, the Congress of Baja California voted 18–1 in favor of the amendment, and after approval by municipalities, it was published on 27 May 2011. On 13 November 2014, the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled that Baja California's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
Because the state Congress had made no efforts since 2011 to reform the Civil Code and the Constitution, a complaint was filed with the Comisión Ciudadana de Derechos Humanos del Noroeste on 27 November 2014.
On 14 January 2015, Raúl Ramírez Baena, director of the CCDH, filed a petition with the Governor and five municipal officers of the state requiring them to provide notification to the registrars throughout the jurisdiction on how to proceed with same-sex marriages in compliance with the Mexican Constitution.
On 22 February 2017, the head of Baja California's adoption agency announced that same-sex couples have the right to adopt in the state, in line with jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court.

Legislative action

A bill was introduced in the Baja California Congress on 12 February 2015 to fully legalise same-sex marriage in the state by changing article 7 of the state Constitution, though no vote on the bill has yet taken place. Discussions on the proposal have been delayed multiple times because of opponents of same-sex marriage.
In March 2015, politicians in Tijuana began work on an initiative to legalise same-sex marriage in the city.

Injunctions

On 18 March 2013, a male same-sex couple applied to marry in Ensenada. Their application was denied on 21 March, and they filed an amparo on 12 April 2014. On 31 October 2014, the Seventh District Court ordered the city of Ensenada to allow their marriage. Officials in Ensenada later stated that they would abide by the injunction.
On 17 June 2013, a male same-sex couple were denied the right to marry in Mexicali and applied for an injunction. The injunction was approved in October 2013, but was appealed by the registrar to the Supreme Court. On 25 June 2014, the initial injunction was upheld and Mexico's Supreme Court deemed the state's marriage ban unconstitutional. On 31 October 2014, the civil registrar of Mexicali, Adriana Guadalupe Ramirez, notified the couple that the decision would not be appealed, the refusal was withdrawn, and the marriage could proceed. Though Ramirez scheduled the ceremony for 21 November 2014, when the couple appeared in the Wedding Hall to marry, the judge refused to perform the ceremony and the celebrants were evacuated after a bomb threat was received. The Civil Registry claimed that discrepancies in documents had been rectified and announced a rescheduling of the wedding for 10 January 2015. On 10 January, the couple again returned to the registry for their marriage ceremony which was declined for the fourth time, under a citizen's allegation that the couple suffered from "insanity". The citizen who made the allegation was an official who performs premarital counseling required by the city and who had refused to give the couple the certificate that they had completed the counseling. In response to the ongoing controversy in Mexicali, officials in Tijuana announced that they were willing to comply with an amparo and offer premarital counseling to same-sex couples. Lawyers for the couple filed contempt of court proceedings against the mayor and registrar for failure to carry out the instructions of the Supreme Court. During a protest march scheduled by the LGBT community, officials in Mexicali announced that they were dismissing the accusation of "madness" and were ready to perform the marriage. On 17 January 2015, the couple became the first to marry in Baja California. In March 2015, it was announced that the Government had asked for a review of the amparos granted in the state thus far with the intent of delaying the issuance of jurisprudence.
On 6 August 2013, a lesbian couple were denied a marriage license by the civil registrar in Mexicali and filed for an injunction. They received notice of the injunction's approval on 30 December 2013.
On 22 January 2015, a lesbian couple applied to marry at the Civil Registry in Tijuana and were rejected. The couple vowed to fight the denial and insisted that as federal law trumps local law, an injunction is unnecessary since the Supreme Court had already declared Baja California's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
Three additional injunctions were filed in September 2014. One of the three couples involved married on 14 May 2016 after their injunction was granted. It was announced in June 2015 that ten people had filed for a collective amparo in Tijuana. It was granted on 18 March 2016. On 22 December 2016, a judge declared the state's same-sex marriage unconstitutional and granted an amparo to another same-sex couple.
In September 2017, a same-sex couple successfully married in Tijuana without first receiving an amparo.

Government decree

On 3 November 2017, the Government of Baja California announced that it would cease to enforce its ban on same-sex marriage. It instructed the state's 5 municipalities to immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples without requiring them to receive an injunction beforehand.
In late December 2017, the State Commission of Human Rights announced that state officials cannot refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Although one municipality, Mexicali, continued to refuse to issue marriage certificates, it had relented by late December 2019. In early 2020, the State Civil Registry instructed all civil registrars in the state to process marriage applications by same-sex couples in a manner similar to opposite-sex couples.

Marriage statistics

From 2015 to mid-2018, about 34 same-sex couples married in Baja California; 18 in Tijuana, 12 in Mexicali, 3 in Ensenada, and 1 in Tecate. The Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos has noted that, while same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since late 2017, several same-sex couples have been denied marriage licenses. In July 2018, the Commission recorded 72 cases, mostly in Tijuana. Several couples have seen their requests denied based on the state's marriage laws, which still retain a ban on same-sex marriages. The Commission has urged the State Congress to explicitly amend its marriage laws to close the loopholes, and has reminded state officials that it is illegal to refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
By the end of 2018, 186 same-sex couples had married in the state; a large majority in Tijuana.

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 53% of Baja California residents supported same-sex marriage. 43% were opposed.
According to a 2018 survey by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, 31% of the Baja California public opposed same-sex marriage. This was the second lowest in all of Mexico, behind Mexico City at 29%.