Mexicali, Mexico - A bill to legalize gay marriage was introduced on February 12, 2015 in Congress of the Mexican state of Baja California, according to La Crónica newspaper.

The bill would amend the state constitution to remove the ban on gay marriage in order to comply with rulings by the federal Supreme Court that have overturned such bans as unconstitutional.

PRI Deputy Miriam Ayón Castro, president of the Commission on Youth and Sports, said she is sponsoring the bill to change the wording to say that marriage can take place between two people, rather than a man and a woman. She said the change, if passed by Congress, would allow gay and lesbian couples to get a civil marriage.

Baja California has been dragging its feet to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, and it took a gay couple from Mexicali almost two years to go through the courts before they could get legally married. Gay and lesbian couples have applied to marry elsewhere in Baja, including San Diego's sister city of Tijuana, and have been turned down as part of the legal process to get the law changed.

According to news reports, the bill will head to the Committee on Governing, Legislation and Constitutional Matters, overseen by PRD Deputy Roberto Dávalos Flores, who represents Tijuana District 12.