Lesbian
couple from Texas registers for civil
union in Mexican border state

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)