Mexico: Legislator asks authorities to ban same-sex weddings from public spaces
A state legislator in Mexico has come under heavy criticism for calling on authorities to ban same-sex weddings from all public spaces.
Colima state lawmaker Rafael Mendoza, argued that gay couples being allowed to marry in public spaces confuses children.
The lawmaker said mothers had come to him with complaints after a civil union ceremony took place between an American man and a Mexican man in the main plaza of the city of Cuauhtemoc, reports the Associated Press.
He said that society was not ready for same-sex weddings, and that mothers did not know what to tell their children when the two men kissed.
“Parents are coming to me, to my house, to tell me they are against the city carrying out these weddings in public,” he said. “I am not against these civil unions; the only thing is, I don’t want them in public.”
A representative from a different political party has said it will file a human rights complaint this week accusing Mendoza of discrimination.
Just two members of congress voted against the change, instead arguing that the state should not limit same-sex couples to civil unions, and should allow marriage.
Several other states allow either same-sex marriages or civil unions. Mexico City and Quintana Roo allow marriage, whilst Coahuila allows civil unions.
One state, Yucatan, banned same-sex marriage in 2009.
