Gay marriage debated in Mexico City

The Latino electorate in three states has received plenty of blame for backing ballot proposals banning gay marriage. (The reality, of course, is not that simple and straightforward).

South of the border, meanwhile, legislators in Mexico’s capital are debating opposing bills centering on gay marriage. One proposal from councilwoman Leticia Quezada calls for expanding the law to allow homosexuals to wed, adopt, and receive social security benefits. A competing bill by conservative legislator Maria de la Paz Quiñónez demands that marriage be defined as a union between “two biologically distinct persons.”

Mexico City has permitted civil unions among gays since 2007, a measure that has drawn fire from the Catholic Church and Mexico’s federal government. Marcelo Ebard- Mexico City’s leftist mayor- has publicly backed Quezada’s bill:

“The Law of Societies in Coexistence was already approved and I do not see why other instruments in the same direction are not due to approve. Which do these tools try to do? Allow that people can live freely with their sexuality and have relations with the pair that choose.” – [ed. personal translation]

Image- MSNBC (“Antonio Medina, right, and Jorge Cerpa kiss each other after signing their civil contract, the first in Mexico that offers same-sex couples the same rights as marriage.”)
Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, Guanabee, dailynews.com
Sources (Spanish)- La Cronica de Hoy, Milenio