Gay Marriage Is Legal, But Mexicans Are Still Fighting Over Whether It Should be Allowed Matthew Bell - PRI's The World
go to original September 14, 2016

This amazing photo of a boy at a Guanajuato anti-gay march went viral for all the right reasons (Manuel Rodriguez/Regeneración)

Gay couples in Mexico already get married when they wish, thanks to the blessing of the highest court in the land.



But big demonstrations across the country in recent days show that, politically at least, the issue of same-sex marriage is far from settled.

Thousands of people marched throughout the country this past Saturday to protest President Enrique Pena Nieto's initiative to legalize gay marriage. Counter-protesters came out in force, too.

The National Front for the Family, a coalition of conservative religious groups, called for the protests. The coalition is also planning a mass march for Sept. 24 in Mexico City.

"Long live the family, in the image of the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus and Saint Joseph," read one sign at the protest in the city of Puebla, the capital of a central Mexican state with a strong Catholic presence.

"Papa + Mama = Happy Family," read another sign at that protest, where many of the protesters wore white and carried pink, blue, and white balloons.

An estimated 5,000 people marched in Veracruz, where some got into verbal clashes with gay rights counter-protesters.

Thousands of people of various religious denominations also turned out to protest in the streets of the northern border city Ciudad Juarez.

In May, Pena Nieto announced a constitutional reform that would legalize same-sex marriage across Mexico. Several other Latin American countries already allow such unions.

The announcement followed a Supreme Court ruling last year declaring that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Read the rest at PRI's The World

Related: Mexico Gay Marriage: Ten Commandments of a Secular State (Mexico Voices)

Related: Sociologist Accuses Bishops of Violating the Mexican Constitution by Marching Against Same-Sex Marriage (The News)

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