Two years after passing a civil unions
law for gay and lesbian couples, Mexico City is preparing to debate
gay marriage, the AFP reported.
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)
assemblyman David Razu introduced the bill at a press event on
Tuesday.
“We only want everyone treated
equally under the law, there is no intention to violate anyone's
rights, this simply acknowledges the rights of one social sector with
no detriment to another,” he said.
The bill leaves the issue of adoption
open. Razu said he expects the issue to be heavily discussed
throughout the legislative process.
Uruguay recently approved bills that
allow gay couples to enter civil unions and adopt. Argentine
lawmakers are considering a gay marriage law. In 2002, Buenos Aires,
the nation's capital and largest city, legalized civil unions for gay
and lesbian couples. Four other Argentine cities followed.
Mexico's influential Roman Catholic
Church opposes the city's bid to recognize gay nuptials.
“The Church believes that marriage is
not only a contract but a sacrament instituted by God for a man and a
woman to share life together and be the nucleus of society,” father
Jose De Jesus Aguilar of the Archdiocese of Mexico told the AP
Monday.
Razu said he believed the bill would be
approved before the end of the year.