The Congress of México state legalized gay marriage Tuesday, leaving only three states without laws permitting matrimony between same-sex couples.

Fifty of 75 lawmakers in the unicameral Congress voted in favor of legalization, seven National Action deputies abstained and 16 Institutional Revolutionary Party representatives opposed the bill. Two other deputies were absent. 

Same-sex couples will be able to marry in Mexico’s most populous state once Governor Alfredo del Mazo Maza promulgates the law via publication of a decree in the state government’s official gazette.

México state, which almost completely surrounds Mexico City, is the 29th federal entity to legalize gay marriage, and one of the last: Tamaulipas, Tabasco and Guerrero are now the only states where such laws don’t exist.

Morena party Deputy Anais Burgos, a leading proponent of the reform to state marriage laws, said that the Congress was legislating in favor of “a sector of the population that has been humiliated for years.”

The rights of gay people in México state have been ignored, their dignity has been insulted, their identity has been denied and their freedom has been repressed, she said.

“With the approval of this bill the opportunities and rights of mexiquenses will increase,” asserted Burgos, using the Spanish language demonym for residents of México state. 

“This victory doesn’t belong to us as deputies, it belongs to hundreds of collectives; it’s your victory,” she added.

Daniel Sibaja González, another Morena deputy, apologized to the LGBT community for the discrimination, aggression, ill-treatment and hate crimes they have long suffered.

Members of that community gathered outside the state Congress in Toluca on Tuesday and celebrated the approval of the marriage equality bill.  

The reform also formally recognizes relationships between unmarried same-sex couples who live together and gives them the same rights as those enjoyed by married couples.  

México state is the fifth state to legalize gay marriage this year after Durango, Jalisco,Yucatán and Veracruz. Several other states, including Guanajuato, Querétaro and Zacatecas, approved marriage equality in 2021. 

With reports from El Financiero and Milenio