Friday, November 29, 2002
Cohabitation bill approved by Mexico’s legislative committee
A story released today by the NewsMexico.com reports that a Legislative
Assembly committee in Mexico has sent a recommendation to the city council
to grant unmarried couples many of the legal benefits of marriage.
The 14-member council unanimously approved the proposal for the Cohabitation
Bill which would include legal benefits for couples living together,
regardless of their gender and sexual preference. It would allow unmarried
partners to file for and share pension, social security, and inheritance
benefits.
The proposal, which was initially presented in April 2001, has undergone
several revisions over the past year and a half and will be submitted for
approval by the larger assembly next Tuesday.
"This is an unnecessary and aberrant law for a so-called conjugal link,
similar to civil marriage," wrote members of the conservative National
Action Party (PAN) which rejects any provision that might benefit same-sex
partners.
They added that by drafting the law, legislators were overstepping legal
boundaries in an area normally regulated by judges.
