Mexico City extends rights to gay and heterosexual couples

This is welcome news from south of the border. Mexico City has approved ordiances that will recognize civil unions of gay people and grant rights to unmarried heterosexual couples. The significance of this is that Mexico is, of course, largely Roman Catholic and the Catholic church takes very narrow views on all issues pertaining to sexuality.

This from today’s L.A. Times:

MEXICO CITY — The city assembly approved a new civil unions measure Thursday that would recognize the legal rights of gay couples, the first such legislation passed in this staunchly Roman Catholic country.

Championed by lawmakers with the leftist parties that control the Legislative Assembly of Mexico's Federal District, the bill was approved 43 to 17 and is expected to be signed by the city's mayor. The conservative National Action Party of President-elect Felipe Calderon opposed the measure.

A few hundred gay activists waving rainbow-colored flags gathered outside the legislative chambers to celebrate the vote, while a smaller group of counter-protesters looked on."

It was a long, intense battle, but today we finally won," said Enoe Uranga, a lesbian activist who proposed the first civil union bill in 2001 as a Mexico City legislator. "Now we have to fight to apply the law, to show the citizenry that this is a noble law…. This is a historic day."

The bill also would grant new rights to unmarried heterosexual couples in this city of about 9 million people.