Same-sex marriage is currently not legal in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. Civil unions, which grant several of the rights of marriage, have been available for same-sex couples since 12 January 2017.
History
Legislative action
Civil unions
In February 2014, PRD Deputy Eréndira Montiel Jiménez promised to present bills to forbid discrimination and for a law of coexistence. The proposed law, introduced on 3 April 2014, outlined the legal framework to eliminate discrimination and to develop a form of coexistence "that has the purpose of marriage or concubinage". In June 2014, activists urged Congress to act in favor of the civil union and anti-discrimination bills submitted by Montiel Jiménez. On 29 December 2016, the Congress of Tlaxcala approved the coexistence bill proposed by Montiel Jiménez, in an 18-4 vote. Two PAN deputies walked out in protest as the voting happened. The bill established an institution called sociedad de convivencia solidaria, which provides cohabiting same-sex and opposite-sex couples with many of the same rights and obligations of marriage. It was published in the official journal, following the Governor's signature, on 11 January 2017 and took effect the following day.
Marriage
Two bills were presented to the Tlaxcala Congress on 2 October 2009 to legalize same-sex marriage and eliminate discrimination. The initiative was blocked in 2010 by officials, and in fact, the state, along with officials from Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos and Sonora, sent a formal challenge to the acceptance of same-sex marriage passed by the Federal District. In June 2011, activists questioned why no action had been taken and were told that the initiatives were still "climbing the roster." The president of the Committee for Gender Equality and Anti-Trafficking of Persons of the Congress of Tlxacala, María Antonieta Stankiewicz Ramírez, announced that a same-sex marriage bill would be debated within the committee sometime in July 2016, though no vote happened. On 13 October 2017, the New Alliance Party introduced a new same-sex marriage to the State Congress. The July 2018 elections resulted in the National Regeneration Movement and the Labor Party, pro-same-sex marriage parties, winning the majority of legislative seats in Tlaxcala.
Injunctions
In June 2015, it was announced that since the Supreme Court's ruling holding same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional, 15 couples had gone to the Civil Registry in Tlaxcala asking to marry. All had been rejected per state law. The Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos helped a lesbian couple with the amparo process and advised that they will assist others in obtaining injunctions. On 18 January 2016, the first marriage via amparo took place in Tlaxcala. The lesbian couple had been one of the couples who went to the Civil Registry in June 2015. The amparo was only granted after the Commission interceded on their behalf.
Public opinion
A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 51% of Tlaxcala residents supported same-sex marriage. 48% were opposed. According to a 2018 survey by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, 44% of the Tlaxcala public opposed same-sex marriage.
