Tag: same-sex marriage

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Pennsylvania: Corbett administration fights same-sex couples joining marriage equality lawsuit; compares couples to 12-year-olds

In a brief filed by the Corbett administration Wednesday, state attorneys said marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples were never valid, and compared gay and lesbian couples to “12-year-olds” who are also barred from marrying under state law.

The state Department of Health and Montgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes will appear in Commonwealth Court next Wednesday to argue the case.

Since July 24, Hanes has issued 154 marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Thirty-two of the couples have petitioned to intervene in the case, arguing that a ruling against Hanes could also invalidate their marriages.

The state filed a brief Wednesday opposing the couples’ participation, saying the marriage licenses hold no “actual value or legitimacy” and thus have no right to be defended in court. “Had the clerk issued marriage licenses to 12-year-olds in violation of state law, would anyone seriously contend that each 12-year-old … is entitled to a hearing on the validity of his ‘license’?” the state wrote.

If the couples wish to defend their “purported marriage licenses,” the state wrote, they should file their own lawsuit or wait for the outcome of a federal challenge to Pennsylvania’s marriage law.

(source)

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Sixth county in New Mexico to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples

And now a sixth county in New Mexico will begin offering marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

From Think Progress:

Late Tuesday afternoon, a court order from the Eighth Judicial District Court added Taos County to the list as well, and County Clerk Anna Martinez will begin offering them Wednesday morning.

Combined with Santa Fe, Bernalillo, and Doña Ana Counties, this brings the total to six New Mexico counties now offering marriage equality. Together, those six counties are home to 1,172,581 of the state’s population, or 56.2 percent. More counties could soon follow along the momentum.

The state Attorney General has stated he will not challenge the clerks or marriage licenses issued, and the Governor has been silent on the topic.

A group of Republican state lawmakers have filed suit to stop the licenses from issued saying the clerks have broken or changed the law. However, nothing in New Mexico law bans same-sex marriage or stipulates that marriage must be between a man and a woman.

So – there.

Forward.

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New Mexico: Two more counties to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples

Ya-hoo!  My kind of news! Up to five counties in New Mexico now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

From Equality On Trial:

San Miguel County in New Mexico joins Valencia County as the latest in the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. San Miguel County Clerk Melanie Rivera has confirmed that she will issue new gender neutral marriage licenses later this week, though couples who don’t want to wait can receive a license today:

Rivera also stated that couples who did not wish to wait could apply and receive a license today. Until the new licenses arrive Rivera will make the changes to the old forms by hand.

Valencia County Clerk Peggy Carabajal has also discussed the change:

Valencia County Clerk Peggy Carabajal said she should have gender-neutral licenses ready by Wednesday. She also said she is willing to alter licenses if people want to get married Tuesday.

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Marriage News Watch – August 26, 2013

From AFER: This week’s all about New Mexico, where we’ve got surprise weddings, new lawsuits, old lawsuits, and emergency orders. Meanwhile there’s a hearing coming up to determine whether those Pennsylvania weddings actually counted, new organizing in Tennessee and Arkansas and Indiana, and a special session in Hawaii.

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Dictionaries changing the definition of “marriage” as marriage equality becomes more widespread

From The Australian: The definition of marriage is being changed in dictionaries after new measures allowing same-sex couples to marry became law in Britain last month.

The online versions of the Collins, Macmillan and Oxford English dictionaries acknowledge that marriage is no longer limited to a man and a woman. The next paper editions published will do the same.

Collins amended its definition from the legal union or contract “made by a man and a woman to live as husband and wife” to one “made by two people to live together”. Macmillan’s definition of marriage as a “relationship between two people who are husband or wife” now includes the addendum “or a similar relationship between people of the same sex”.

Oxford added “the relation between persons married to each other” to its definition “the condition of being a husband or wife” with the note that “the term is now sometimes used with reference to long-term relationships between partners of the same sex”.

(tipped by TRR reader Rayme)

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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)