A lesbian couple
from Texas have become the first international visitors
to take advantage of a new civil union law in Mexico's
Coahuila state. Maria Carreon Lara, 39, and Amparo
Maldonado, 24, of Midland, Texas, registered as a
"civil solidarity union" under the law that took
effect last month in Coahuila, the first of Mexico's 31
states to recognize unions between gays.
Nonresidents can
register under the law, which provides gay couples with
social benefits similar to those of married couples, if they
are in Coahuila legally. It is unclear if the union
will have any legal standing in the United States.
The couple, who
are of Mexican descent, have lived together for five
years, local media reported. They registered for the union
in the city of Ciudad Acuna, across the U.S. border
from Del Rio, Texas.
On January 31, a
lesbian couple from Mexico's northern state of
Tamaulipas registered for the first civil union in Coahuila.
In November,
Mexico City, a semi-independent capital zone that has some
of the same powers as states, passed a similar measure, the
first in the nation's history. It takes effect in
March. (AP)