Gay Marriage Legalized in Mexico City
On December 21, officials in Mexico voted to legalize gay marriage and adoptions within the Latin American metropolis. This change will modify the definition of marriage, changing it to a civil union between two people instead of a man and woman, as it previously stated.
When you take these changes into consideration, does this mean that the United States could be the least progressive country in North America? When you compare The United States’ policy on same-sex marriage to those of its northern and southern neighbors, it appears that very well could be the case.
Canada has a long history of being more tolerant of same-sex relationships than the United States, and has been permitting same-sex marriages for almost five years. In 2005, Canada passed the Civil Marriage Act and became the fourth country in the world – and the first in North America – to legalize gay marriage. Prior to that legislation, eight out of ten provinces and one out of three territories , whose residents comprised about 90% of Canada’s population, had already legalized same sex marriage. Canada’s tolerance of same-sex relationships even goes as far back as ten years ago, when most benefits given to married couples were extended to cohabitating same-sex couples in 1999.
This is a stark contrast to views of gay marriage in the United States, where only four of the 50 states currently recognize same-sex couples. Marriages between same-sex couples are currently only permitted in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont. A fifth state will join that list on January 1, 2010 when New Hampshire will begin to allow them. Washington D.C. could be added as early as February 2010, and is currently attempting to pass same-sex marriage legislation.
But just as many states are giving new rights to same-sex couples, other are taking them away. The state of California used to allow gay couple to receive the same benefits as married couples, but has since ceased to offer new ones.
With the adding of gay marriage laws in Mexico City, this raises many questions about the future of same-sex marriages in North America. Could the rest of Mexico join the nation’s capital and join Canada on the list of countries that allow gay marriage? If this does happen, will the United States feel comfortable being the only nation on an entire continent to not extend equal rights to homosexuals?
