Same-sex couples in Mexico win another victory against discrimination

The legal battle for equality and the right of LGBT couples to not be discriminated against has been a struggle around the world. Mexico is no exception, but the LGBT community has gained ground recently, thanks to two decisions, one local and one national, by the Nation's Supreme Court of Justice, the country's highest court.

In the local matter, a case questioned the legality of a local ordinance (in the western state of Colima) that restricted marriage to only being between a man and a woman, but created a special condition called a “conjugal bond” for two people of the same sex. In its determination, the court ruled that a condition considered to be equivalent to marriage, such as a “conjugal bond,” violates the right not to be discriminated against:

This determination has led traditional media to conclude the Supreme Court has consolidated its position in favor of gay marriage.

In the second case, the court's position affecting the entire country was published officially on June 19. It reiterates its rationale for determining that homosexual couples are in a situation equivalent to that of heterosexual couples. This precedent includes an interesting pronouncement on one of the reasons why homosexual couples have been vulnerable:

It concludes:

The ruling definitively determines that for the courts there exists no constitutional reason to not recognize marriage between persons of the same sex. This, it should be mentioned, does not imply that local and federal laws have been automatically rewritten. 

Along these same lines, a member of the local legislative authority recently gained notoriety by making statements that were not only in poor taste, but also contrary to the Supreme Court's adopted position:

The legislator in question belongs to the Partido Acción Nacional (the conservative National Action Party), which in recent federal elections reaffirmed its position as the second political power nationally. Jiménez Ortiz's statements were recorded in this video on YouTube:

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It can be deduced that equality and the right to not be discriminated against have won important battles in Mexico, but continue their legal and social journey on the long road to justice.

A version of this story was cross-posted at Global Voices, a community of 1,200 bloggers and reporters worldwide.