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The Legislative Assembly, the unicameral legislative body for Mexico City, just passed a marriage equality bill 39-20. The mayor is expected to sign it. Mexico City has been a regional leader in LGBT rights, passing a civil unions law and other LGBT-positive legislation in recent years.
The Los Angeles Times says:
The bill calls for changing the definition of marriage in the city’s civil code. Marriage is currently defined as the union of a man and a woman. The new definition will be “the free uniting of two people.”The change would allow same-sex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans together, inherit wealth and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse, rights they were denied under civil unions allowed in the city. …
Argentina’s capital became the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex civil unions in 2002 for gay and lesbian couples. Four other Argentine cities later did the same, and as did Mexico City in 2007 and some Mexican and Brazilian states. Uruguay alone has legalized civil unions nationwide.
Buenos Aires lawmakers introduced a bill for legalizing gay marriage in the national Congress in October but it has stalled without a vote, and officials in the South American city have blocked same-sex wedding because of conflicting judicial rulings. …
City lawmaker Victor Romo, a member of the mayor’s leftist party, called it a historic day. “For centuries unjust laws banned marriage between blacks and whites or Indians and Europeans,” he said. “Today all barriers have disappeared.”
31 Comments
No frickin’ way!!!Very cool. . .
So I wonder if immigration to Mexico from the US will increase as LGBT American citizens escape the religious and political persecution of the US?
not surprisingly,mexico city has a reputation for being a liberal hot spot in mexico. i bet the city gets a lot of internal mexican immigrants.
US to Mexico immigrationIn addition to many elderly people who are moving to Mexico for the better standard of living, especially regarding health care.
That means thatall three major North American capitals now have marriage equality!
I didn’t realize older people were headed to Mexicofor lower health care costs. I knew people were going to Canada because of it, but to know now that Mexico is an option also is not surprising. Compared to this country where if you get sick, you run a very high risk of becoming financially ruined. This has happened to my sister and brother-in-law this year. She was diagnosed with breast cancer two years and unfortunately at stage IV and it is at this point untreatable. Within 20 months, they have gone from the average American family financially to so deep in debt they can’t see the bottom of the pit.
The doctors are now saying she has only a few months left of life. My brother-in-law has no option but to file bankruptcy after she passes.
Congress can’t even pass a bill to allow people the freedom and liberty to buy imported prescription meds on the guise that they are ‘worried’ imported drugs are unsafe. Bullshit. They are worried their investments (financially and politically) won’t pay off when people relaize they can buy the same meds for pennies on the dollar from other countries.
Why is this country so screwed up?
In my opinion – its that stupid filibuster rule in the senate. In order to block progress on anything good for the people, you only need to drum up 40% support plus one.
The Senate sucks.
Papal/Vatican eruption in 3…2…1You know the press release is being prepared.
I wonder if. . .the pope and his army of bishops are considering ending services to the needy and poor becuase they don’t want to give employee benefits to teh gays.
It’s a win-win for them. They can cut back social services and use the money instead to pay their legal costs and settlements in all the child abuse cases, the whole while blaming everything, the child abuse and the cut in services, on the terrible satanized homosexuals.
Of course, the down side for them is that if their is a heaven and a hell, they will all be burning in hell for eternity.
(Is it wrong to smile a little when I think about that?)
That is the most amazing epiphany I have heard to date!and so the avalanche begins, by DEC. 2010 we will be so tired about hearing new cities and new states with new marriage equality standards. I am going to love this!!
Fantastico!Now I have two choices to move to should I desire to leave the US: Spain and Mexico City!
This is fantastic news.
CBShad a story about a lot of older Americans moving to Mexico for the health care.
Not surprisingly, this is putting strain on the system.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories…
A good friend of mine has been to Mexico City and she says the gays there are definitely more open, at least when it comes to PDA.
my thoughts exactly I bet Ratzi is FUMINGwait until Brazil gets Marriage Equality that’s a HUGE Catholic country
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Yup, that’s the story I saw
Tell me about it!My dear maman had in a span of ten months: two back surgeries, a stroke and then minor heart surgery. That was back in 2002 and she has yet to recover. Add to that, rheumatoid and osteo-arthritis She was working as a social worker for a private company but had to quit her job before she even went in for the first surgery, still had insurance through my Dad’s plan. Then, about three years later, my dad loses HIS job and is diagnosed with diabetes around the same time. He’s yet to find full-time employment, despite having post-grad degrees and certifications in IT. He was 57 yo when he was laid off, so that makes him 62 yo now; ageism kicks in at this point.
Maman is on Medicare/Medicaid as she’s officially disabled and can’t work due to the stroke and my dad is taking advantage of his veteran status and gets his medical care via the VA. But in the meantime, they were scammed when trying to refinance their mortgage and are on the verge of losing their house. But drug costs are driving them further into the poor house. They too went from being middle-class earning about $110,000 between them (my dad earning most of that, since social workers are paid sh*t) and now? Yeah, in the same situation as your sister.
You have my sympathies and I’ll keep your sister and her husband in my thoughts.
I’m sure you’re like me, though, extremely angry whenever you hear the accusations of “irresponsible” and “should’ve planned better” and “stupid” leveled against our loved ones by the people whose policies put them in this situation in the first place.
Okay, I’m going to stop here because it’s making me angry all over again.
Catholic outreach in South AmericaThat’s the stronghold these days since their popularity dwindled sharply post-WWII in Europe and only a little drop in the US and Canada, but Mexico and the other Latin American countries became the focus for the Vatican.
Have you seen those CatholicsComeHome commercials? I’m surprised no one has written about those here yet.
add Canada to your list!
And so begins the processof falling behind Mexico. F#*^&@$ MEXICO!!!!!!!! “Land of the free” my bony gay ass.
America is looking more like the Dark Continent every daySo one of the most machismo and Roman Catholic countries of the world is now a leader in civil marriage equality. The USA, and California and New York in particular, should feel not only ashamed of their recent actions against civil equality for the gays but also for the loss of their forward leaning social justice inclinations.
It is truely a sad day and commentary on the US and CA and NY that a city such as Mexico City can rightly claim to be far ahead of them on social justice issues. Hell, even South Africa has legalized same sex marriage.
South Africathrew me for a loop when I first heard of it.
Actually, Mexico is still behind the USAAfter all, we have several states with marriage equality, several more with “marriage lite” and the DC Council beat the MC Assembly by a week.
I don’t get it.I agree that CA etc should be ashamed of themselves, but how does this law affecting Mexico City and only Mexico City put the USA to shame exactly? It’s not like the USA isn’t also troubled by religious fanatics. We have “god is on the mix” in the White House, after all, yet we’ve managed to eek out marriage equality and marriage lite in several states and in our own federal city of DC.
I didn’t say we are behind MexicoI said we’re beginning the process of falling behind Mexico.
Gay americablog made the statementAll the capitol cities of North America now allow same sex marriages.
@ tbaxferHadn’t read your comment when I posted the same thing.
South Africa hasa very recent past of human rights abuses. Most of the victims of apartheid are still living and they have not become ‘immune’ to the call for civil rights. 45 years have passed here in the US since the civil rights act – enough time to turn over two generations and lose some of the awareness of what it is like to be the persecuted ones. Plus when you add in the influence the white religious right has had in black churches on social equality issues, it makes sense that the US is behind a country like South Africa.
GO SOUTH AFRICA!!!
how are we falling behind, then?i just don’t see it.
Give it time.
Catholic Church in MexicoIt’s a misconception that this country is “Catholic” any more than France or the Czech Republic or Italy or Spain. Actually, Church and State have been separated a lot longer here (since 1857) than any of those other nations.
While 80 to 85 percent of Mexicans may say they are “Catholic” they are referring to culture and not what they do on Sunday morning (which is usually sleeping in, or recovering from a hangover, or watching a futbol game, or any of the myriad of activities most people do on a day off).
We may not be a rich country, but we’re not a backwards one. We have a national health system and all the things normal countries do… it’s the United States that mixes religion into public policy, not Mexico.
By the way “peteyPornpig” — not a criticism, but Mexico is not in South America, and, while a small mistake, one that drives folks here absolutely nuts. Much more than worrying about what other people do in their own homes.
Maybe you got the wrong nickname with a South America statementI quoted Gay americablog which grouped Canada, USA, and Mexico as North America. I always put Mexico in Central America…but maybe that designation has gone away.
Back in my Jurassic era grade school geography wasn’t my best subjectBut the maps weren’t so good either, I believe they showed and edge just beyond Hawaii, and dragons off the edge.
grins
You missed my pointIt doesn’t matter whether or not the country is more Catholic than any others. What matters is just what I said, that the Vatican started focusing their concentration on Mexico and South America post-WWII (in addition to parts of Africa and Asia but they’re not under discussion here). That’s what outreach is and why I used that specific word in the title of my response. The Vatican is starting to refocus some intense scrutiny on the US also (ask the nuns), but that doesn’t mean that I am saying that this country is Catholic. Again, I point attention to the commercials I talked about in my initial response.
I’m talking about the focus of the Church on people who are members and those they hope to recruit or bring back to the fold.
I attend a Catholic university and most of the discussion about the “future of the Holy Mother Church” centers around efforts in Mexico and South America as well as Africa and Asia. There is a major emphasis on that area for the Church. Again, that’s why I referred to said efforts as outreach.
Also you bring up a good point here:
Exactly. And that would be the reason the Church would want to focus there, wouldn’t you say? To get all those people skipping on Sunday back in those pews. And, again, the commercials that are now airing in the US. Though most American Catholics I know (several dozen obviously) are very devout, nonetheless the Church is stepping up outreach here.
Did I make my point clearer this time?