Same-sex marriages are performed and recognized in all municipalities in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The first two same-sex marriages occurred in Kantunilkin in Lázaro Cárdenas Municipality on 28 November 2011 after it was discovered the state's Civil Code does not specify sex or gender requirements for marriage. However, future same-sex marriages were suspended in January 2012 upon review by Quintana Roo's Secretary of State. The two same-sex marriages in the state were annulled by the governor of Quintana Roo in April 2012, but these annulments were reversed by the Secretary of State in May. The Secretary of State's decision also allowed for future same-sex marriages to be performed in Quintana Roo.
History
The Civil Code of Quintana Roo does not define gender requirements for marriage, specifying only "people interested in getting married". A same-sex couple, Patricia Novelo and Areli Castro, filed for a marriage license in Cancún and Chetumal after discovering this legal quirk, but both cities rejected their applications, arguing that a man-woman marriage was implied. The couple then applied in Lázaro Cárdenas Municipality, where authorities accepted the application. Quintana Roo's first two same-sex marriages were held in the community of Kantunilkin on 28 November 2011.
Cancún and other resort areas in Quintana Roo planned to hold a same-sex group wedding in January 2012. Newspaper Reforma reported that upcoming ceremonies were suspended following an order by Quintana Roo Secretary of State Luis González Flores to review the legality of the ceremonies. In April 2012, both marriages were annulled by Roberto Borge Angulo, the governor of Quintana Roo. In May 2012, the Secretary of State reversed the annulments. The next month, both marriages became legal because there was no estoppel in due time. It was also announced that same-sex marriages are legal in all the municipalities of Quintana Roo. However, in 2013, a lesbian couple were denied the right to marry and forced to obtain an injunction in Tulum. The Court concluded discriminatory acts had occurred and ordered the state to prevent further discrimination against homosexuals, requiring all Civil Registry offices in Quintana Roo to have marriage license applications for same sex couples.
In September 2014, the Bacalar City Council approved changes in the procedures for the Civil Registry to equalize procedures for all marriages. Officials in Playa del Carmen announced that same-sex couples were allowed to marry in the municipality, as of the last week of September, 2014. The City of Othón P. Blanco announced that the first same-sex marriage would occur in their municipality on 26 November 2014. As of mid-December, 2014, officials announced that there had been 7 same-sex marriages in Quintana Roo. The first same-sex couple to be married in Playa del Carmen were wed on 27 December 2014.
In November 2014, it was announced that a bill to officially legalize same-sex marriage in the state would be introduced and voted on in the current legislative session, thereby replacing the loophole used by couples.