Mexico's Supreme Court has upheld
Mexico City's gay marriage law, the AP reported.
Justices ruled 8-2 Thursday that the
law approved by lawmakers in December is constitutional.
The law went into effect in March. It
gives gay and lesbian couples all the rights and responsibilities of
marriage, including the right to adopt children. Previously, the
city government recognized gay couples with civil unions, but gay
adoption was banned.
The court must still rule on the
constitutionality of the law's adoption provision, which will be
considered on Monday.
Calling the law detrimental to
children, the federal Attorney General's Office had challenged the
law.
The federal government is controlled by
the conservative PAN Party. Mexico City lawmakers approved the law
over the objections of local PAN leaders and the Roman Catholic
Church.
Mexico's Roman Catholic archbishop,
Cardinal Noberto Rivera Carrera, called the law “immoral” and
“reprehensible.”
The ruling comes a day after a
federal judge in California struck down the state's gay marriage ban.
Mexico City was the first autonomous
government to legalize gay marriage in Latin America and several
countries in the region have followed its lead. Argentina
approved a gay marriage law last month. Chile,
the last country on the continent to allow divorce, Uruguay, and
Paraguay say they'll consider a gay marriage law. Peru will
debate a bill that recognizes gay and lesbian couples with civil
unions.
Officials in Mexico City announced
earlier this week that 320 gay couples have married since the law's
enactment.