Tag: New Mexico

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New Mexico Republicans move to stop issuance of same-sex marriage licenses

It did seem like they were pretty silent on the sidelines so far. Now the GOP steps in.

Via the Sante Fe New Mexican:

Republican Sen. William Sharer of Farmington said a lawsuit will be filed, potentially by the end of the week, seeking a court order to stop County Clerk Lynn Ellins.

“It has to do with a county clerk cannot make law. That is the Legislature’s job,” said Sharer, who sponsored a constitutional amendment in 2011 to define marriage as between a man and woman.  He said more than two dozen GOP lawmakers have agreed to join the lawsuit. It likely will be filed with the state Supreme Court, but Sharer said lawyers were trying to decide the best legal strategy.

New Mexico’s laws do not explicitly allow or prohibit marriage for same-sex couples.

To date, Dona Ana County has issued 91 licenses to same-sex couples, many of whom traveled from other counties across the state and Texas.

Gay marriage is an interesting political issue for the state. New Mexico leans left politically, but there are many moderate to conservative Democrats in the rural parts of the state. According to recent polling, New Mexico supports marriage equality 46-43.

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New Mexico: District judge orders Santa Fe County clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

Judge Sarah Singleton

A New Mexico district judge is ordering the Santa Fe County clerk to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Rep. Brian Egolf, a lawyer handling a lawsuit by two Santa Fe men, said Friday that Judge Sarah Singleton’s order represents the first time a New Mexico judge has ruled that gay and lesbian couples can be married.

The order issued late Thursday mandates that Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar issue the marriage licenses or appear in court to tell the judge why that shouldn’t happen.

Around 90 same-sex couples have received marriage licenses in southern New Mexico this week since the Dona Ana County clerk decided on his own to grant them.

New Mexico state law and constitution does not currently directly address the issue of same-sex marriage in any way.

(via LGBTQ Nation)

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NOM’s Brian Brown riding the “waaahmbulance” about same-sex marriage licenses in New Mexico

Brian Brown of the ironically named National Organization for Marriage

NOM’s Brian Brown is very, very, very upset that a county clerk in New Mexico is doing exactly what the anti-gay marriage folks have demanded of other county clerks around the country – follow the laws of the land.

Unlike in many other states, New Mexico residents have never voted to ban same-sex marriage and state law does not expressly permit or prohibit such unions.

Via NOM’s Blog:

“Same-sex ‘marriage’ activists in New Mexico are not content to wait for the courts. Now they have found a county clerk willing to defy the Governor and Attorney General by issuing illegal ‘marriage’ licenses to same-sex couples.

“The battle for marriage as God designed has come to The Land of Enchantment; and it’s your turn to stand in the breach. Every person who believes marriage to be the union of one man and one woman needs to contact Governor Martinez, urging her and her administration to give their full support to the defense of marriage.

“This latest action goes beyond the pending lawsuits in New Mexico and moves into the realm of lawlessness and anarchy. County Clerks are not free to make up law on their own; it is there job to uphold the law and serve the people who elected them.” – Hate group leader Brian Brown, who is once again very upset that a county clerk is doing exactly what hate groups have demanded of clerks in states where marriage was legalized.

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New Mexico: State Attorney General won’t challenge same-sex marriage licenses

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King says he will not challenge a move by the Dona Ana County clerk to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

King told reporters Wednesday that he didn’t believe state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage were constitutional. 
He also said he would not challenge any other county clerk who issued licenses. 
Still, King warned that those marriages could be invalid if the state Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage is not allowed in New Mexico. 
The Dona Ana County clerk began issuing same-sex marriage licenses Wednesday after he said his review of state law allowed him to do so. 
Couples immediately began arriving at a Las Cruces courthouse to receive licenses amid pending court challenges elsewhere in the state.  By the end of the day, 42 marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples.

(source)
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New Mexico: County clerk issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples

This morning the New Mexico county of Dona Ana began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

From Progress Now New Mexico:

Same-sex couples in Doña Ana County began receiving marriage licenses this morning after the county clerk announced he was issuing them based on a legal opinion endorsed earlier this year by the City of Santa Fe and a recent filing by the attorney general stating that New Mexico’s laws demanded that the state issue licenses to same-sex couples.

County Clerk Lynn Ellins began issuing the licenses at 8:00 am this morning from his office. At ProgressNowNM, we couldn’t be happier for the couples in Doña Ana County – and those across the state who will soon, no doubt, make their way there – who have waited far too long for public sentiment and political courage to evolve far enough to publicly acknowledge their relationships as being just as equal as that of their neighbors.

If acted upon, Dona Ana County would become the first county in New Mexico to actively issue same-sex licenses since a central New Mexico county clerk tried to issue them in 2004. The Sandoval County clerk issued 64 licenses to same-sex couples but then-Attorney General Patricia Madrid soon declared the licenses were invalid. A court later ordered the clerk to not issue such licenses.

The move comes a day after a same-sex couple from Santa Fe asked the New Mexico Supreme Court to streamline the handling of lawsuits seeking to legalize gay marriage in the state.

Rep. Brian Egolf, a Santa Fe Democrat and the couple’s lawyer, said Tuesday the goal is to get a quick lower court decision and clear the way for an expedited ruling by the state’s highest court.

The justices are being asked to consolidate all cases involving the gay marriage issue and assign them to a district court judge in Santa Fe, who would issue a ruling that would go directly to the Supreme Court for review.

(source)

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New Mexico: Gay couple forced to back of a bus for holding hands

The Advocate reports that Ron McCoy and his partner Chris Bowers flew into Albuquerque International Sunport on June 28. They were planning to attend Albuquerque’s Pride festival that weekend, then kick off a road trip of the Southwest, according to Albuquerque’s KQRE.

But when the couple boarded an airport shuttle to pick up their rental car, they say they sat down toward the front of the bus and took one another’s hand.

“I saw him look at us, look down at his hands, and he looked so angry,” McCoy told KQRE. “He just blurted out at me, he goes, OK, if you’re going to do that, you’re going to the back of the bus.”

Flabergasted by the driver’s tone, the couple complied and moved to the back of the bus. But when the shuttle stop, the couple approached the driver to inquire about why he demanded they move.

McCoy told KQRE he said to the bus driver, “I think it was because you didn’t like the fact that I was holding my partner’s hand.” Then McCoy says the driver responded by saying “‘See, now you’re telling on yourself.’ My partner responds, ‘Well, that’s discrimination,’ and the driver responds, ‘You’re telling on yourself again.'”

KQRE spoke with a woman who witnessed the exchange, and said she was appalled by the driver’s behavior.

A spokesman for the airport confirmed that the driver had acted inappropriately, and called the driver’s behavior “absolutely unacceptable.”

A manager for the company that runs the shuttles, Standard Parking, told KQRE the driver “was inappropriate and got carried away,” but that he did not consider the incident discrimination. The manager told KQRE the driver in question was still working for the company.

UPDATE: The shuttle service company has apologized for the actions of its driver.

Standard Parking Inc. has stated that it has a zero tolerance policy toward discrimination and suspended the employee after learning of the June incident, reports the Associated Press. It also stressed its commitment to its customers’ equal rights.

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NOM’s Brian Brown is mad about New Mexico

“The battle for marriage as God designed has come to The Land of Enchantment; and it’s your turn to stand in the breach. Every person who believes marriage to be the union of one man and one woman needs to contact Governor Martinez today, urging her and her administration to give their full support to the defense of marriage.

“As you are probably aware, two men applied for a marriage license in Santa Fe County. A brave County Clerk refused to issue the license because she knew, as you do, that New Mexico’s definition of marriage is the union of one man and one woman. As a result, these men have filed a lawsuit seeking to have New Mexico give legal recognition to same sex marriage. And yesterday the Santa Fe Commission voted to support this suit!

“We need the Governor to intervene because the State’s Attorney General is refusing to do so. In fact, the Attorney General has betrayed his oath of office by urging the Court to overturn New Mexico’s recognition of traditional marriage and legalize same-sex marriage.” – Hate group leader Brian Brown, calling on supporters to protest the evil gays in New Mexico.

New Mexico currently has no law legalizing or outlawing marriage equality.

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New Mexico Attorney General will not defend state in marriage equality lawsuit

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King yesterday told the state Supreme Court that he will not defend the state against a lawsuit calling for the legalization of same-sex marriage saying the current prohibition on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

In written arguments filed with the court, King said the justices should invalidate the state’s ban on gay marriage if they agree to resolve the issue in a lawsuit filed by two Santa Fe men who were denied a marriage license.

King, a Democrat who plans to run for governor next year against Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, said New Mexico law effectively doesn’t allow gay marriages although there’s no statutory provision that specifically prohibits, or authorizes, gay couples to be married. “New Mexico’s guarantee of equal protection to its citizens demands that same-sex couples be permitted to enjoy the benefits of marriage in the same way and to the same extent as other New Mexico citizens,” King said in the filing.

The state Supreme Court had asked King to respond to the lawsuit, but in yesterday’s response, King also said the couple’s case should be rejected because it had improperly bypassed lower courts and would set a precedent for direct actions to the high court.

Earlier this month the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights also filed a lawsuit on behalf of six gay couples asking the state Supreme Court to clarify whether same-sex couples can marry in New Mexico.

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New Mexico: Albuquerque Pride shuts down haters at Pride Parade

Nope, the Pride goers were not feeling the anti-gay vibe crashing the end of their own parade.

And they shut it down.

From Advocate.com: The so-called Christian protesters carried picket signs, and one even had a gun strapped to his belt. They attempted to set up at the end of Albuquerque’s LGBT Pride parade route, but the crowd quickly shouted them down, resulting in a police escort removing the hateful group from the scene.

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New Mexico: Man crashes car during drunk sex, hides in cactus

So, what do you do when you get caught driving while intoxicated and having sex, running red lights and the police are after you?

In New Mexico, this guy tried hiding behind (“in”?) some cactus…

From RawStory:

Witness told Albuquerque police that Luis Briones was observed having sex with a woman who was on his lap while he was driving, according to KRQE. Briones ran a red light and struck another car, throwing his naked companion from the vehicle.

The report said that Briones tried to flee but a witness took his car keys. Police later found Briones hiding in cactus with his shorts inside out. The complaint stated that he refused to cooperate with police and became hostile with paramedics. Police said that he also refused to wear his pants while inside the patrol car. 

Apparently, no seatbelts were being worn, although a “partially consumed” bottle of vodka was found in the car.

Briones is looking at at least eight charges including DWI, running a red light, reckless driving and sexually assaulting a cacti.  (Ok, I made the last one up.)

Here’s the news report on the story from KRQE: