by Rex Wockner
International News
Mexico City –
Three hundred and two couples have taken advantage of Mexico City's civil-union law since it came into force in March 2007.
Unions have been registered in 15 of the city's 16 boroughs, led by Cuauhtemoc, with 59 unions, and Iztapalapa, with 46.
Some 94 percent of the unions were between people of the same sex.
The law allows gay and straight couples – as well as two friends, roommates or extended family members – to register their relationship and receive spousal rights in areas such as inheritance, pensions, property, co-parenting and medical decisions.
Only one couple has dissolved a civil union, and one union ended when a partner died.
The state of Coahuila, which borders Texas, is the only other locale in Mexico with a civil-union law.
