MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed Tuesday a constitutional reform to legalize same-sex marriage across Mexico, joining a handful of Latin American nations allowing such unions.

Pena Nieto said he will send the landmark initiative to Congress after the Supreme Court declared last year that it was unconstitutional for states to ban same-sex marriage.

“I do this with the conviction that the Mexican state must prevent discrimination for any motive and ensure equal rights to all,” he said at an event marking the national day against homophobia.

“This way, equal marriage will be clear in our constitution,” said Pena Nieto, who added rainbow colors to his picture in his Facebook and Twitter accounts and met with representatives of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Mexico City has authorized gay and lesbian marriages since 2009 and three of the nation’s 31 states have followed suit. A fourth state, Campeche, has approved legislation but it has yet to come into force.

The Supreme Court’s landmark “jurisprudence” does not oblige states to change their laws, but it requires courts to rule in favor of same-sex couples whose marriages were rejected.

Pena Nieto presented another initiative requiring the foreign ministry’s passport office to accept birth certificates in which a person’s gender was changed.