Northern Mexican
state of Coahuila approves law recognizing same-sex
unions

The legislature for the northern Mexican state of Coahuila approved a law recognizing same-sex unions on Thursday, becoming the second assembly to take such an action in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. The measure, which will provide gay couples with numerous social benefits similar to those of married couples, was approved with 20 votes in favor and 13 votes against, said Rep. Julieta Lopez of the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. Lopez helped the draft the bill. Coahuila governor Humberto Moreira, who is also in the PRI, is expected to sign the bill into law. In November the Mexico City assembly passed a similar measure, the first such law in the nation's history. That law has been sharply criticized by the Roman Catholic Church and the conservative National Action Party of President Felipe Calderon. While homosexuality is still taboo in many rural parts of Latin America, the region's urban areas are becoming more socially liberal. Mexico City and Coahuila join the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires and the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul in legalizing same-sex civil unions. At the national level, lawmakers in Costa Rica and Colombia have debated, but not passed, similar measures. (AP)