LinkMexico City already had passed a gay civil union law that goes into effect March 16, but it took seven years to get that legislation through the City Council. Coahuila's law took three months from the day it was introduced until the day it went into practice.
And unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live in the country.
"This does not have to do with morality. It has to do with legality," said López, a psychologist who is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. "As human beings, we have to protect them as they are. It has to do with civil liberty."
