Tens of thousands of people marched in Mexico in protest of same-sex marriage Saturday, a controversial topic in the country exacerbated by a proposal from embattled President Enrique Peña Nieto [official website, Spanish] to recognize same-sex marriage. The marches [Reuters report] were organized by the National Front for the Family, an alliance of religious organizations and civil society groups, and spanned from Mexico’s far north to the Yucatan peninsula. By the early afternoon, an estimated 40,000 people had come to protest in Queretaro, and 12,000 came to protest in Puebla, 7,000 more than city police had anticipated. Earlier this year the Mexico Supreme Court held [JURIST report] that a state law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman was unconstitutional, and several states in Mexico already permit same-sex marriage, including Mexico City.

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community (LGBT) continues to face legal challenges throughout the world. Last month the Belize Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a law banning sodomy, declaring it unconstitutional and adversely impactful to the LGBT community. Last December voters in Slovenia rejected a law [JURIST report] that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. In November the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. The UN has become increasingly focused on the rights of LGBT individuals. In September 2015 12 UN agencies released a joint statement [JURIST report] arguing that abuses toward the LGBT population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole. In June 2015 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported [JURIST report] that members of the LGBT community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses.