Same-sex Mexican couple become first newlyweds to have their US marriage recognized by Mexico

Two Mexican natives married in New York became the first gay couple married outside of Mexico to have their union recognized.

Daniel Berezowsky, 32, and Jaime Chávez Alor, 31, were married by the consul general of Mexico in Manhattan last week, NBC News reported Wednesday.

{mosads}The pair, who met in high school and reconnected in 2012, made history by putting up a legal fight to have their marriage legally recognized in their home country. Same-sex marriage is allowed in Mexico City and some of the country’s 31 states but it is not legal under federal code.

The two men tried for six months to obtain a marriage license from the General Consulate of Mexico in New York, but were denied.

“We thought it was discriminatory and a violation of our human rights,” Chávez Alor told NBC News. “We had every right to get married.”

The couple filed a legal challenge in a Mexican federal court and a judge ruled in their favor on Oct. 19.

Same-sex Mexican couples living abroad will now be legally able to get married.

“We’re happy, because we knew we weren’t the first same-sex couple to try to get married here, but we’re the first one that was successful,” Chávez Alor said.

They hope Mexican lawmakers will pass legislation to legalize same-sex marriage at the federal level.

“During past elections, every time candidates were questioned about same-sex marriage, they said that it was a state decision and that it didn’t have relevancy,” Chávez Alor said. “But this isn’t true, because there are cases like ours. It was very important for us to show that same-sex marriage should be on the federal agenda.”

The New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs wrote on Facebook that it was an honor to congratulate the newlyweds as they marked a “milestone for global equality in NYC.”

“Their persistence will make a meaningful difference for LGBT Mexican immigrants and their families living in New York City and elsewhere,” the agency wrote.