Mexico City Approves Gay Marriage

With a 39-20 vote, Mexico City legislators passed a bill Monday to legalize marriage equality in the city.

The vote follows a proposal last November by Mexico City assemblyman David Razu (pictured) that the municipal civil code be changed to allow for same-sex marriage marriages.

"The bill seeks to be in agreement with Article 1 of the Constitution, which says that no person can be discriminated against for any reason, and with Article 2 of the Civil Code, which says that no person can be deprived of the exercise of their rights for reasons of sexual orientation," Razu said when the bill was introduced, according to the Latin American Herald Tribune.

Current law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but this bill revises the definition to "the free uniting of two people," according the Associated Press. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is expected to sign the marriage equality measure into law.

The Mexico City vote marks the first occasion that a legislature has voted to approve same-sex marriage in Latin America. Some other cities allow civil unions for gay couples, and a court decision in Buenos Aires OK'd gay marriage there, but the same-sex couple intending to become the first to marry in Buenos Aires had their plans put on hold by another judge's ruling.