Same-Sex Marriage Law Passes in Mexico City

Despite strong conservative opposition from many parts of the country, Mexico City voted Tuesday to give same-sex couples the right to marry and to adopt children, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The law, which passed by a 39-20 vote, is more expansive than many similar bills. The legislation defines marriage as a "free union between two people," and does not specify gender. Further, the law gives gay couples "the right to adopt, inherit, obtain joint housing loans and share insurance policies."

Mexico City is known to be a liberal stronghold in the middle of a country with strong traditional and conservative roots. More than 75 percent of the population is Roman Catholic.

Despite this, Mexico City was also the first in the Latin American nation to legalize abortion, which it did in 2007. That decision provoked rancor in neighboring states and has "prompted states across Mexico to dig in their heels against abortion."

Still, gay rights activists in the city see Tuesday's vote as a huge victory. "For centuries, unfair laws prohibited marriage between whites and blacks, between Europeans and Indians," a member of the Mexico City legislature told the Times. "Today, all the barriers have disappeared."

Photo courtesy Laverrue via Flickr.