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Mexico votes down same-sex marriage bill in congress

A man dressed as a Mexican cowboy and holding a rainbow flag smiles as he poses for a portrait during a gay rights demonstration outside of Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016. AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

MEXICO CITY – A committee in Mexico’s lower house of congress has voted down a proposal by President Enrique Pena Nieto to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

The measure seeking to enshrine in the constitution same-sex couples’ right to wed was defeated 19-8 Wednesday in the Commission on constitutional Matters.

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READ MORE: Mexicans march for gay marriage, day after opponents rally

According to a summary published online by the Chamber of Deputies, commission chairman Edgar Castillo Martinez said the vote means the matter is “totally and definitively concluded.”

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled last year that it was unconstitutional for states to bar same-sex marriage. But that decision did not have the effect of rewriting any laws on the books, and such marriages remain legal only in some jurisdictions.

READ MORE: Tens of thousands of Mexicans march against allowing same sex marriage

Pena Nieto made the proposal in May. Mexico later saw large demonstrations both in favour and against.

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