ITN: Good news in Mexico, Puerto Rico civil code, Jamaican prison for TG youth

Coahuila says yes to same-sex partners: Yesterday, Coahuila became the second Mexican state to recognize the rights of same-sex partners following Mexico City, which approved a more limited bill back in November.

Mexican organizations react to anti-gay comments by new Health Minister: In the meantime news agency NotieSe reports today that some organizations reacted strongly to comments made by the new Health Minister José Ángel Córdova Villalobos in an interview published yesterday in Exelsior.

Representatives from Catholic Women for the Right to Choose, Group of Information on Elective Reproduction (GIRE), and Integral Health for Women (Sipam) reacted to Villalobo's comments regarding reproductive health while the National Counsel for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS (Conasida) and the National Front of People Affected by HIV/AIDS pointed out that HIV prevention should be based on science and not on "personal, moral or religious beliefs."

Homosexual Group, Action and Information (GHAI) called the declarations "surprising" and "irresponsible."

Friends Against AIDS questioned the Minister's comments that some radio spots "promoted homosexuality" and noted that sexual identity, whether gay or straight, cannot be "promoted" as there is no way to change a person's sexual orientation.

In the meantime an opinion columnist in the paper where the outrageous comments were published, Exelsior, also reacted angrily. Yuriria Sierra says:

...the state oversees the area of public health and that is your responsibility, Minister. To decide how each and every Mexican should express their sexuality is not under your perview. And society should not care whether you think that other people's love or pleasures are dangerous: What is dangerous is that the Ministry under your charge might not comply with what is truly your responsibility. We will take care of our beds: You should take care of our health.

Puerto Rico exclusive not so exclusive anymore: In the meantime, the exclusive we gave you on Wednesday (in collaboration with PRparaTODOS), is not so exclusive anymore as the major Puerto Rican papers revealed today what we already knew:

A draft of family regulations within a new Puerto Rican civil code not only would create civil union regulations in the Caribbean island but extend civil union rights to same-sex partners in a version that was shown to legislators this morning.

We have it on good authority that there will be surprises ahead that might increase the chances of the code being adopted by the legislature and that might benefit more than just same-sex couples.

Trans youth in Jamaican prison: Jamaican prison authorities say that they mistakenly placed a juvenile trans woman in a woman's prison after the arresting officer failed to realize that the person was transgender, according to the Jamaica Observer. Perhaps it might have been a safer choice for the teen, unfortunately she has been moved to "another correctional institution."