LGBT Rights in Puerto Rico - Marriage-related Measures

Marriage-related Measures

On 19 March 1999, Governor Pedro Rosselló signed into law H.B. 1013, which defined marriage as "a civil contract whereby a man and a woman mutually agree to become husband and wife."

In 2008, the Commonwealth's Senate passed a proposed referendum to voters that would have amended Puerto Rico's Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, banning same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. Better known as resolución 99 (resolution 99), the constitutional amendment was not approved by the Commonwealth's House of Representatives, after the legislative committee studying the proposal concluded not to recommend its approval. A similar bill was defeated in 2009.

During the civil unions debate, attorney general Roberto Sánchez Ramos had declared it might be unconstitutional to deny the right of marriage to same-sex couples.

In early January 2010, Governor Luis Fortuño made comments to a group of evangelical ministers that were interpreted that he would favor an amendment to Puerto Rico's constitution that would restrict marriage to the union of one man and one woman. However, shortly afterwards he categorically denied that he favored such a measure.

In early April 2010, there were reports that two members of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives (Iván Rodríguez Traverzo and Norman Ramírez Rivera) were planning to reintroduce a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.