An unidentified lesbian couple on
Tuesday became the first gay couple to marry in the Mexican state of
Guanajuato.
According to several
Mexican outlets, the women sued the state in federal court after
they were denied a marriage license.
Approximately 30 guests were present as
Mary, 34, and Lucha, 32, were declared “a couple legally united in
marriage” in a private ceremony held in Leon, the state's largest
city.
Fidel Negrete, president of the gay
rights group Asociacion Colectivo Leon Gay AC, described the ceremony
as full of emotional moments mixed with joy and nervousness.
“It was a wonderful wedding,” he
said. “They looked beautiful and very happy.”
Much like the United States, Mexican
states individually decide on marriage. Mexico City in 2009 became
the nation's first, and so far only, municipality to legislatively
approve marriage equality. Mexico's highest court declared the law
constitutional and ordered all states to recognize the legal
marriages of gay couples. However, only a handful of states have
moved on the issue. Some, under court order, have allowed marriage,
while others have adopted civil unions.