Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval affirmed this week that he supports a bill that would enhance the rights of same-sex couples but is not in favor of gay marriage.
The State Congress is currently discussing the Ley de Libre Convivencia that would provide same sex-couples with inheritance rights and social security benefits, but deny them the right to marry or adopt children.
“I am in favor of respecting the individual rights and freedoms of every person to decide who they want to have a relationship with and live under the same roof with. Such rights must be legally guaranteed,” he said.
The governor has been under pressure to take a stance on a bill that has been fiercely criticized by the Roman Catholic Church, as well as conservative groups and politicians in the state.The governor said his view was a personal one and that legislators from his own party are free to make up their own minds about the bill.
The legislation is being debated by four congressional committees, one of which, the Human Rights Committee, withdrew its approval last week at the request of Mariana Arambula of the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) and Roberto Mendoza of the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Both said they needed more time to analyze the bill and consider possible changes.
The bill has already met the approval of the PRI-led Human Development Committee, but was rejected by the PAN-controlled Constitutional Committee. The Gender Equality Committee has yet to issue its verdict on the legislation.
Introduced by the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the Ley de Libre Convivencia does not go nearly far enough for many in the local LGBT community. They would like to see legislation more akin to Mexico City, where civil unions were approved by the city council back in November 2006.