Same-Sex Marriages Legal in Cancun

[William769]

Gay travelers just got another reason to head to the Caribbean. According to Fox News Latino, Cancun, Cozumel, and other resort areas in the Mexican Caribbean will soon allow same-sex couples to legally marry, thanks largely to a recently discovered quirk in the local civil code.

The area is already popular with LGBT travelers from the U.S., Europe, Canada, and other parts of Mexico, and several couples have already expressed interest in marrying there. Activist Patricia Novelo told the Spanish language news site Efe.com that the first same-sex group weddings will be held in the resort area this month. The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association is working with Colectivo Diversidad, Fusion G, and Gay Tours Mexico to strike up deals with airlines and hotel chains so that same-sex weddings can be held all along Mexico's Caribbean coast.

According to Fox News Latino, same-sex marriages are possible in the region of Mexico known as Quintana Roo, "thanks to a legal gap in the Civil Code," which speaks only to "people interested in getting married" without specifying their gender.

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/01/01/Same_Sex_Marriages_Legal_in_Cancun/

[xchrom]

1. Cool! Nt

[usrname]

2. Well, that's a good way to get some more tourist dollars

If Cancun et al. are smart, they'll work to keep other popular vacation destinations homophobic to reap the LGBT tourist dollars while the remaining destinations fight for the same-old, same-old.

[Fearless]

3. Excellent! Every pick up helps!

[RobertBlue]

4. William, would a marriage in Cancun be recognized in the U.S?

It's kind of a rhetorical question because I'm so cynical but OTOH I'm not familiar with the law about this.

Countries where same sex marriage is legally recognized nationwide:

Same-sex marriage is legally recognized nationwide in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. In the United States, same-sex marriages are not recognized federally, though same-sex couples can marry in six states and one district.

DOMA is horrible and should be abolished ASAP.

ETA: K&R

[William769]

5. Short answer, no.

Long answer No way.

[RobertBlue]

6. That's what I thought but was hoping, just in case...

Thank you for your reply.

[Ms. Toad]

8. Longer answer...

Marriages from Cancun would be recognized in any state in the United States where same gender marriage is recognized, and probably in any state where civil unions are recognized.

...BUT only to the extent marriages or civil unions are recognized in those states (i.e. you still don't get the federal rights, and once you cross the state line into an unfriendly state, recognition vanishes.)

My spouse and I are legally married (Victoria, B.C. 2004). We often joke that we are more married than our heterosexual counterparts, because if we wanted to end our marriage one of us would have to move to a state or country which recognizes our marriage and establish residency there in order to get divorced.

Same gender marriage in a state or country where it is legal is every bit as legally binding as a heterosexual marriage - but with a lot fewer benefits because in most places it isn't entitled to reciprocity - and it is and a heck of a lot harder to end. (It is in roughly the same position as common law heterosexual marriages were before the courts in states which did not recognize those figured out how to handle them.)

[DURHAM D]

9. This is off topic but -

do you know if any states in the U.S. do not recognize heterosexual marriages from other countries / territories? Also, are any foreign heterosexual marriages denied at the federal level?

[Ms. Toad]

10. As a general rule all heterosexual marriages are recognized everywhere.

The fine print:

Lots of court cases sorted that out - because it wasn't always obvious, but the general rule after the dust settled was that if a marriage is valid where it is entered into, it is recognized everywhere else.

Any exceptions, within the US, are on a case by case basis (or class by class, once an exception for a certain class of marriages is determined). Generally states can only refuse to recognize a marriage from another jurisdiction if it violates its strong public policy (which, if it ever comes to a court case, will be how a marriage from Iowa (for example) is refused recognition in neighboring Nebraska. But keep in mind that the criminal laws preventing interracial marriage in Virginia were not strong enough public policy to keep the Loving's interracial marriage from being recognized, and differing age of consent, and degree of relationship have all been ruled out as being sufficient refuse to recognize a marriage that was valid where it was created.)

Recognition of marriages comes at the state level - so if a state recognizes a marriage, it is also recognized at the federal level . Common law marriages are the most obvious place this comes into play. In Ohio, for example, before around 1991 a couple had to cohabitate, believe themselves to be married, hold themselves out to be married, and be eligible to be married. Those elements created a common law marriage (even if the cohabitation was a single day). A couple who established a marriage at common law was legally married for all state and federal purposes. They could file their taxes as a married couple, they could claim spousal benefits under Social Security, etc. They were every bit as married as a couple who had a ceremony, under both state and federal law (and that marriage would be recognized by virtually every other country).

The exception to that rule now is the federal marriage discrimination act (DOMA). That is why the Mass case is such a strong case (at least the piece contending that it is unconstitutional to deny federal benefits when the state has chosen to recognize the marriage). It is federal interference in state's rights - a constitutional matter, and a statute (DOMA) cannot override the constitution.

Small disclaimer: It has been a decade since I actively studied family law so most of this is from memory. I've generally kept up with it (since the topic is obviously one of interest), but don't guarantee all of the details.

[DURHAM D]

11. Thank you for your response.

The question popped into my head while I was reading your earlier post and I figured you would know the answer. I was just looking for a crack. Thanks again.

[eggplant]

12. How are polygamous marriages resolved when coming to the US from places where it is allowed?

(Geniune question -- it never occured to me to wonder about it before this thread.)

[Ms. Toad]

13. That all part of the case law sorting out marriage reciprocity

As a general rule, the first spouse is recognized and subsequent ones are not (based on the strong public policy argument, I believe).

When I took a quick look to check my memory, I found this interesting article that was published after the last time I spent much time in this area of the law (I just skimmed it - but it suggests that the US recognizes at least some polygamous marriages) http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=twlj

[eggplant]

14. Very cool article

It seems to say that Native American polygamy is recognised by the states if it is valid according to tribal custom (which varies from tribe to tribe). The recognition seems to derive from a formal treaty. Foreign polygamy is left to the individual states as we have not signed any international treaties which speak to it.

Interesting!

[lunasun]

7. Would be awesome place to honeymoon !!!! all of Quintana Roo region is amazing