On Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, Sonoran legislators overwhelming voted to approve marriage equality reforms during away with aspects of the state's "family code" that barred same-sex couples for wedding.
It’s been six years since Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting same-sex unions are unconstitutional. Now, Sonoran laws finally reflect that decision, after legislators passed marriage equality reforms.
Activists and supporters cheered outside of Sonora’s state Congress building on Thursday afternoon calling it a historic day.
That’s because legislators overwhelmingly voted in favor of changes to the state’s so-called family code, which had barred same-sex couple from wedding, that will make marriage equality the law of the land.
The reforms come after years of protests, legal battles and failed attempts to move the measure through congress. Earlier this year, a federal judge had ruled that Sonora must change its laws by December, though Sonora's previous governor had submitted an appeal in her final days in office. Mexico's Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that laws prohibition same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.
Now, after a vote of 26-7 in the state Congress, Sonora is the 24th of Mexico’s 32 states to establish marriage equality.
In a statement, Sonoran Gov. Alfonso Durazo celebrated the decision, calling it an important step toward protecting human rights.
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