Many eyes will be focused on a registry office in Guadalajara on Saturday as two women try to become the first same-sex couple to marry in the state of Jalisco.
After Guadalajara authorities blocked their bid to wed in March, Martha Sandoval and Zaira Viridiana took their struggle to federal court. Last week, a tribunal granted the couple an amparo (appeal on the grounds of unconstitutionality) that obliges the city to recognize their right to marry. In making their decision, the tribunal (Juzgado Cuarto de Distrito en Materia Civil en el Estado) said it had cause to reinterpret recent changes to Jalisco’s Civil Code regarding the inelegibility of same-sex couples to marry, finding them “unjustified” and “discriminatory” as defined by the Mexican Constitution.
In March, Guadalajara’s Civil Registry had denied Sandoval and Viridiana’s request to marry, arguing that the state’s Civil Code states that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. They subsequently referred the matter to city hall’s legal department for “revision.”
The couple were hopeful that legislation being discussed by the state Congress in the summer would ease their path to marriage. However, in September legislators opted to pass a bill permitting same-sex couples to enter a legal contract enhancing their inheritance and social security rights but denying them the right to marry.Undeterred, Sandoval and Viridiana – the parents of a small child – pressed on with their campaign and were thrilled when the federal court issued its recent landmark ruling.
Armed with their amparo, Sandoval and Viridiana this week completed the necessary paperwork and paid the statutory fee for the marriage license.
However, they encountered an obstacle when the Guadalajara Family Development Agency (DIF) balked at allowing them to sit in on a “pre-matrimonial talk” – a legal requirement for all couples getting married in the state.
At first, the DIF director said she needed to consult the tribunal’s ruling and the Constitution before allowing them to attend the “platica.” But after local newspapers aired the story extensively this week, DIF President Laura Hernandez, wife of Guadalajara Mayor Ramiro Hernandez, stepped in and validated their right to attend the session.
On Thursday, the couple’s lawyer announced that the city’s Registry Office Number One had received all the necessary documents and that an official there had confirmed that the marriage ceremony would go ahead at noon on Saturday.
Sandoval and Viridiana can expect a large crowd of well-wishers at their ceremony on Saturday, although some supporters have expressed fears that last-minute legal efforts will be made to nix their plans.
If the couple succeed in tying the knot, a slew of other same-sex couples are expected to go down the same legal avenue, ostensibly making redundant the marriage gender article contained in the state law passed just three months ago.