Eight gay and lesbian couples are
expected to marry early next year near the tourist destination city
of Cancun, Mexico, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.
The city-state of Mexico City legalized
gay marriage in 2010 and remains the only municipality in Mexico
where such marriages are officially allowed.
However, the couples' lawyers have
successfully argued in front of judges that the Civil Code of the
Mexican state of Quintana Roo does not specifically bar such
marriages because the state's marriage application is gender neutral.
Gay travel groups in the state say they
are now preparing to market the state as a destination for gay
couples to marry and will promote a mass wedding of gay couples
sometime in January. (It was not clear whether the first 8 confirmed
couples would wed in separate ceremonies.)
“The aim is to promote this niche
market, which is very attractive to European, Canadian and American
couples,” said Patricia Novelo, the spokeswoman for Diversity
Collective.
The gay travel groups say that travel
agencies on average receive about 200 requests per month from gay
tourists wishing to marry in the Mexican Caribbean.