Mexico City, Dec 22 (THAINDIAN NEWS) In a very significant move, the Mexico City has approved gay marriage. And in doing so, it has become the very first Latin America city to approve of the same sex relationships.

According to reports, the elected Assembly of the Federal District of Mexico has changed Monday section of local civil code, which specified that marriage is “the voluntary union between a man and a woman.” This landmark legislation was approved by 39 votes to 20 against. And 5 members were undecided about which way they ought to swing so they abstained from voting. And the legislation doesn’t end there, because then the members addressed the associated concerns too, like a measure, which would allow gay couples to adopt children.

This landmark decision was obviously welcomed heartily by the gay community. However there was criticism of the decision too. “They have given Mexicans the most bitter Christmas,” Armando Martinez, the president of the College of Catholic Attorneys, was quoted as saying in the Associated Press. “They are permitting adoption [by gay couples] and in one stroke of the pen have erased the term ‘mother’ and ‘father.’ ”

That sentiment is echoed on the streets of Mexico City.

“These things, like gay marriage, are not familiar to us here like they are in Europe,” says city resident Roberto Nava, explaining that he is troubled by bill because he sees it as a political tool to capture votes instead of a reflection of a changing society. “What is hardest for me to accept is the adoption of children by two men.”