A group of 18 gay and lesbian Mexicans are stepping up the fight for gay marriage in Baja California Sur, bordered by the northern state of Baja California.

According to BCS Noticias, the group this week submitted an appeal to the Judicial Power of the Federation (PJF) urging Congress and the governor Marcos Covarrubias Villaseñor to change articles 330 and 150 of the Baja California civil code to allow same-sex marriages in the state.

Article 330 states cohabitation will only be recognized between a single man and a single woman, while article 150 states matrimony is only the legal union between a man and a woman for the sole purpose of creating a family and the perpetuation of the species.

Nolzuly Almodóvar Garcia, the lawyer for the group, said there are many more same-sex couples who want marriage equality, but they fear public shaming or being fired from their jobs should they speak out.

‘None of that is necessary,’ he said.

‘We want the government to modify these clauses so we can all have the same rights, regardless of your gender, so that every citizen can freely choose who they want to marry.

‘We’re talking about adoption, we’re talking about registering with the two last names of each partner, we’re talking about social security we’re talking about all the rights that are implied with marriage.’

While not every state in Mexico legally recognizes same-sex unions, Almodóvar Gracia is optimistic about Baja California, saying he submitted an 81-page document explaining ‘why we need marriage equality’.

Last month a survey revealed that over the past four years, more citizens in Baja California have become more accepting of same-sex marriages, a trend seen across some major metropolitan areas throughout Mexico.

Since the Federal District of Mexico legalized same-sex unions in 2010, a reported 6,000 same-sex marriages have been officiated in the city of Mexico, and many couples have received individual grants to marry after they contested anti-gay legislation in courts.

Last month, the first lesbian couple to marry in Michoacan also won the right from judges to come mothers, and according to UniradioInforma one gay couple already won an appeal against the Supreme Court to become the first same-sex marriage in Baja California this August.

The couple said in a statement: ‘The intention with legalizing our union is that the right to marry gives us access to other rights. We’ve been together for 10 years and both our families are now united as one. When I die I want my partner to make the decisions about my health, funeral arrangements, and decided about the things we have worked so hard to obtain.’