LGBT Rights in Mexico - Timeline

Timeline

• 1569: An official Inquisition (tribunal) was created in Mexico City by Philip II. Homosexuality was a prime concern and the Inquisition inflicted stiff fines, spiritual penances, public humiliations and floggings for what it deemed sexual sins.
• 1821: Mexican independence from Spain brought an end to the Inquisition and colonial homosexual oppression.
• 1871: The intellectual influence of the French Revolution and the brief French occupation of Mexico (1862–67) resulted in the adoption of the Napoleonic Code; this meant that sexual conduct in private between adults (regardless of gender) ceased to be a criminal matter.
• 1901 (20 November): Mexico City police raided an affluent drag ball, arresting 42 cross-dressed men; one was released, allegedly a close relative of President Porfirio Díaz. The resulting scandal (known as the "Dance of the 41 Maricones") received widespread press coverage.
• 1959: Mayor Ernesto Uruchurtu closed all gay bars in Mexico City under the guise of "cleaning up vice" (or reducing its visibility).
• 1971: The Homosexual Liberation Front (Frente de Liberación Homosexual), one of the first LGBT groups in Latin America, was organized in response to the firing of a Sears employee because of his (allegedly) homosexual behavior.
• 1979: The country's first LGBT Pride parade was held in Mexico City.
• 1982: Max Mejía, Pedro Preciado and Claudia Hinojosa became the first openly-gay politicians to run for seats in the Federal Congress.
• 1991: Mexico hosted a meeting of the International Gay and Lesbian Association (ILGA), the first ILGA meeting outside Europe.
• 1997: Patria Jiménez (a lesbian activist) was selected for proportional representation in the Federal Chamber of Deputies, representing the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).
• 1999 (August): The First Meeting of Lesbians and Lesbian Feminists was held in Mexico City. From this meeting evolved an organized effort for expanded LGBT rights in the nation’s capital.

September: Mexico City passed an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, the first of its kind in the country.

• 2000: Enoé Uranga, an openly-lesbian politician, proposed a bill which would have legalized same-sex civil unions in Mexico City. However, the local legislature decided not to adopt the bill after widespread opposition from right-wing groups.
• 2001: Article 1 of the Federal Constitution was amended to prohibit discrimination based on (among other factors) sexual orientation (under the vague term preferences).
• 2003 (29 April): A federal anti-discrimination law was passed and a national council immediately created to enforce it.

Amaranta Gómez became the first transgender woman to run as a candidate for a seat in the Federal Congress.

• 2006 (9 November): Mexico City legalized same-sex civil unions.
• 2007 (11 January): The northern state of Coahuila legalized same-sex civil unions.

31 January: The nation's first same-sex civil-union ceremony was performed in Saltillo, Coahuila.

• 2008 (29 August): Mexico City passed a law permitting transgender people to change their legal gender and name.
• 2009: Miguel Galán, from the defunct Social Democratic Party (PSD), became the first openly-gay politician to run for mayor in the country.

21 December: Mexico City's Legislative Assembly passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. Eight days later, Head of Government (Mayor) Marcelo Ebrard signed the bill into law.

• 2010 (4 March): Same-sex marriage law becomes effective in Mexico City.

5 August: The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (the highest federal court in the country) voted 9–2 to uphold the constitutionality of Mexico City's same-sex marriage reform, as well as . Four days later it upheld the city's adoption law.

• 2011 (24 November): The Coahuila supreme court stroke down the state's law barring same-sex couples from adopting, urging the state's legislature to amend the adoption law as soon as possible.

28 November: Two same-sex couples are married in Kantunilkin, Quintana Roo, after discovering that Quintana Roo's Civl code does not specify sex or gender requirements for marriage.

• 2012 (January): Same-sex marriages are suspended in Quintana Roo pending legal review by the Luis González Flores, the Secretary of State of Quintana Roo.

April: Roberto Borge Angulo, the governor of Quintana Roo, annuls the two same-sex marriages performed in Kantunilkin.

May: Quintana Roo Secretary of State Luis González Flores reverses Borge Angulo's annulments in a decision allowing for future same-sex marriages to be performed in Quintana Roo.