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 The ruling makes New Mexico the 17th U.S. state to legalize gay
and lesbian marriage, and comes amid growing momentum on the issue
that saw the governors of Hawaii and Illinois sign bills last month
to permit same-sex weddings in their states.
"Denying same-gender couples the right to marry and thus depriving
them and their families of the rights, protections and
responsibilities of civil marriage violates the equality demanded by
the equal protection clause of the New Mexico Constitution," Justice
Edward Chavez wrote in a 31-page opinion.
The court, in a unanimous ruling, found no New Mexico law that
expressly forbade gay and lesbian couples the right to wed, and said
that barring such marriages amounted to unlawful discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
As a remedy, the court required civil marriage to be construed as
"the voluntary union of two persons to the exclusion of all others,"
regardless of gender.
It added that the rights, protections and responsibilities of
marriage would apply equally to all, in a decision that highlighted
the shifting legal and social landscape on same-sex marriage in the
United States.
Polls have shown increasing public support for gay marriage, and
civil rights groups have prevailed at a number of courthouses and in
an increasing number of state legislatures. Ten years ago, no U.S.
states permitted gay marriage.
Stepping into an intensifying and often bitter national debate over
same-sex matrimony, the New Mexico Supreme Court agreed in September
to settle the matter for the state after some counties began issuing
marriage licenses to same-sex couples, either unilaterally or after
lower-court rulings.
In one ruling earlier this year, a New Mexico judge upheld the right
to gay marriage in a case that applied to counties encompassing the
state's largest city, Albuquerque, and the state capital of Santa
Fe.
Later, judges in a number of other counties asked clerks to justify
their practice of not issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Many
clerks began issuing such licenses to same-sex couples rather than
go back to court.
NEW PUSH FOR AMENDMENT?
One of New Mexico's most vocal opponents of same-sex marriage,
Republican state Senator Bill Sharer, responded to the ruling by
saying he planned to introduce a constitutional amendment to ban gay
marriage. Such an amendment, if passed by the legislature, would
ultimately need approval of voters.
"The Supreme Court decided to overturn a several-millennial-long
standing law, and I don't think they had any good reason to do it,"
Sharer said.
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Brian Brown, president of the anti-gay marriage group the National
Organization for Marriage, called the ruling "a continuation of a
very dangerous rush" toward silencing those who see marriage as the
union of one man and one woman.
Before the ruling, New Mexico faced a situation unique in the United
States because its law was ambiguous on same-sex marriage, unlike
other states that expressly prohibited or permitted it.
The debate reached a crescendo when all 33 county clerks in the
state joined the American Civil Liberties Union in petitioning New
Mexico's high court to decide the issue on a statewide basis.
Eight New Mexico counties were processing marriage applications by
same-sex couples ahead of the ruling, said ACLU of New Mexico
spokesman Micah McCoy. Laura Schauer Ives, legal adviser for the
group, said the ruling marked "a historic and joyful day for New
Mexico."
In celebratory tweets, supporters of gay marriage planned Thursday
night rallies in several cities. Among those welcoming the ruling
was graphic designer Alex Hanna, 43, who along with his partner of
14 years, Yon Hudson, was a plaintiff in a separate legal case
seeking a marriage license in Santa Fe.
"We haven't announced our wedding because we wanted it to be legal
in the whole state. That was our goal," Hanna said.
The ruling was tailored to take effect immediately, and same-sex
couples in at least three counties that had previously not issued
licenses to gay and lesbian couples called their local clerk's
office to ask about obtaining one, said Daniel Ivey-Soto, executive
director of the county clerks affiliate of the New Mexico
Association of Counties.
Couples can wed the same day they get a license.
(Additional reporting by Edith Honan in New York;
writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Cynthia Johnston, Jeffrey Benkoe, Leslie
Adler, Matthew Lewis and Eric Walsh)
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