Background In August 1997, the
Senate of Puerto Rico began discussions on adding an explicit amendment banning same-sex marriage to the Civil Code, even though the law already defined marriage as a "union between a man and a woman". The proposal was promoted by religious groups, but rejected by LGBT activists who argued that the move served only to "stigmatize" same-sex couples as the Civil Code already defined marriage in heterosexual terms. The amendment generated significant media coverage and societal debate. Consequently, Representative Alba Rivera introduced a bill to legalize
domestic partnerships in November 1997, although the bill was never brought up for debate in the chamber floor. These provisions were officially repealed in 2020. During a debate on
civil unions in 2007,
Secretary of Justice Roberto Sánchez Ramos said it might be unconstitutional to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples. In 2008, the Senate of Puerto Rico passed a motion to organize a
referendum that would have asked voters to amend the
Puerto Rico Constitution to define
marriage as a "union between a man and a woman", while also banning same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. Known as resolution 99 (), the proposed referendum was not approved by the House of Representatives, after the legislative committee studying the proposal decided not to recommend its approval. A similar bill was defeated in 2009. In early January 2010, Governor
Luis Fortuño suggested to a group of
evangelical ministers that he favored amending the Puerto Rico Constitution to restrict marriage to "the union of one man and one woman". Shortly afterwards, he categorically denied that he favored such a measure.
Federal lawsuit On March 25, 2014, two women residing in Puerto Rico, represented by
Lambda Legal, filed a complaint in the
U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico seeking recognition of their 2004 marriage in
Massachusetts. They initially named as defendants in their suit,
Conde-Vidal v. Rius-Amendariz, the
Secretary of Health,
Ana Ríus Armendáriz, later adding Governor
Alejandro García Padilla and the treasury director, retitling the case to
Conde-Vidal v. Garcia-Padilla. The plaintiffs argued that Puerto Rico's marriage law denied them constitutional rights guaranteed under the
Due Process and
Equal Protection clauses of the
U.S. Constitution. Four more couples joined as plaintiffs in June. On August 28, Christian Chaplains () asked to be allowed to
intervene in the suit on behalf of its eight members who reside in Puerto Rico. They claimed that if the court ruled for the plaintiffs they "[would] be obligated by law to marry same-sex couples." On October 17, Judge
Juan Pérez-Giménez denied the group's request. Pérez-Giménez dismissed the plaintiffs' lawsuit on October 21, 2014, ruling that the
U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the 1972 case of
Baker v. Nelson prevented him from considering their arguments. He concluded that Puerto Rico's definition of marriage did not conflict with the U.S. Constitution and that: The plaintiffs
appealed the decision to the
First Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 20, 2015, Secretary of Justice
César Miranda announced that the commonwealth would tell the First Circuit that it had decided that Puerto Rico's
statute banning the licensing and recognition of same-sex marriage was legally indefensible. Governor García Padilla said that "legal developments in a number of American jurisdictions point to an undeniable consensus" against the
discrimination found in Puerto Rico's statutes with respect to the right of same-sex couples to marry. Puerto Rico's brief said that
Baker v. Nelson was no longer controlling, that "Puerto Rico's marriage ban must be examined through heightened scrutiny", and that "the Commonwealth cannot responsibly advance ... any interest sufficiently important or compelling to justify the differentiated treatment afforded to same-sex couples". It asked the First Circuit to reverse the judgment of the District Court. On April 14, 2015, the First Circuit
suspended proceedings until after a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on marriage cases it was considering on appeal from the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court asked the parties to file a proposed schedule for further proceedings in
Conde-Vidal within 14 days of the Supreme Court's decision. The Supreme Court ruled in
Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015 that the
Fourteenth Amendment guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. That same day, all parties to
Conde-Vidal asked the First Circuit to overrule the District Court's decision as soon as possible. Governor García Padilla said he would issue an
executive order requiring all government agencies to implement the
Obergefell ruling within 15 days. The first same-sex couples began applying for
marriage licenses on July 13, 2015, The First Circuit ruled in the case on July 8, 2015, overturning the territory's statutory ban on same-sex marriage and remanding the case back to the District Court. On March 8, 2016, Judge Pérez-Giménez ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in
Obergefell did not apply to Puerto Rico, and so upheld the ban on same-sex marriage, in conflict with the First Circuit's directions. In response, Governor García Padilla said he would respect the rulings of the superior courts, ensuring same-sex marriages continue in Puerto Rico. An appeal of Judge Pérez-Giménez's ruling was promptly lodged with the First Circuit, which on April 8, 2016 issued an unsigned opinion rejecting the lower court's ruling and granted the request from the parties challenging the ban that the appeals court issue an order "requiring the district court to enter judgment in their favor striking down the ban as unconstitutional." The First Circuit also ordered that the case "be assigned randomly by the clerk to a different judge (of the lower court) to enter judgment in favor of the Petitioners promptly." On April 11, 2016, District Court Judge
Gustavo Gelpí issued a declaratory judgement striking down Puerto Rico's same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional and declaring that any marriage of a same-sex couple performed in the territory since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in
Obergefell be fully recognized by government agencies and officials.
Developments after legalization On June 1, 2020, Governor
Wanda Vázquez Garced signed into law a new
civil code that repealed article 68 and removed provisions banning same-sex marriage. The new code uses
gender-neutral language with regard to married spouses, and ensures recognition of same-sex unions entered into in other jurisdictions. It was approved by the House of Representatives on March 4, 2019 by a 32–15 vote. However, on April 11, the House requested that the Senate defer consideration of the bill. It approved a modified version of the legislation on November 4. The Senate later passed a slightly modified version, which caused the
Legislative Assembly to agree on a unified version of the bill on May 14, 2020. The code went into effect on November 28, 2020. Article 376 of the new code reads:
Marriage is a civil institution, originating in a civil contract whereby two natural persons mutually agree to become spouses and to discharge toward each other the duties imposed by law. ==Native American nations==