New Mexico Becomes 17th State to Allow Gay Marriage
The New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously affirmed on Thursday the right of same-sex partners to marry in the state, reasoning that the “protections and responsibilities that result from the marital relationship shall apply equally” to them and to opposite-sex couples.
With the ruling, which takes effect immediately, New Mexico becomes one of 17 states and the District of Columbia to permit same-sex marriage. (Thirty-three states limit marriage to opposite-sex couples and 10 recognize civil unions and partnerships.)
“Today’s decision is a powerful affirmation that same-sex couples are equal members of New Mexico’s diverse culture and must be given the same legal protections and respect as other families,” Shannon Price Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which joined the American Civil Liberties Union to bring the case to court, said in a statement.
In a written opinion, the court’s five justices agreed that marriage rights for same-sex couples are guaranteed under the equal-protection clause of the New Mexico Constitution, amended in 1972 to state that “equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person.”
Justices weighed this amendment against the opposition’s argument that prohibiting same-sex marriage was necessary to protect the government’s “overriding interest of responsible procreation and childrearing.”
The justices said in their opinion that such interest played no role in the development of the state’s marriage regulations. Its purpose, they contended, is to “bring stability and order to the legal relationship of committed couples” by defining their responsibilities to one another, as well as their children if they choose to have them, and to their property.
“Procreation,” wrote Justice Edward L. Chavez, author of the opinion, “has never been a condition of marriage under New Mexico law, as evidenced by the fact that the aged, the infertile and those who choose not to have children are not precluded from marrying.”
The decision capped years of failed attempts in the State Legislature to have same-sex marriage legalized, or banned. In March, six same-sex couples filed a lawsuit, bringing to court a battle that, until then, had been governed primarily by political interests.
In August, a district judge ordered the clerks in Bernalillo County - which encompasses the state’s most populous city, Albuquerque - and Santa Fe County, which includes the state’s capital, to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex partners. The 33 county clerks in New Mexico intervened, asking the State Supreme Court to resolve the issue.
Among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Ona Porter and Miriam Rand, who have been together for 26 years and have three children.
After the Supreme Court decision became public on Thursday, Ms. Rand said: “Our kids get to feel they matter both legally and by name.”
Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, chose to stay away from the dispute, although she has publicly taken the position that marriage should be between a man and a woman. On Thursday, she talked about a proposal to roll out high-tech research and development programs, and issued no comment on the court’s ruling.
The justices heard arguments on Oct. 23; spectators packed three rooms in the historic territorial courthouse in Santa Fe. By then, eight county clerks had begun granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. According to the state’s chapter of the A.C.L.U., more than 1,000 such couples have already been married in New Mexico.
An appeal of Thursday’s ruling is impossible, because it was issued by the state’s highest court and is specific to the state’s Constitution.
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With the ruling, which takes effect immediately, New Mexico becomes one of 17 states and the District of Columbia to permit same-sex marriage. (Thirty-three states limit marriage to opposite-sex couples and 10 recognize civil unions and partnerships.)
“Today’s decision is a powerful affirmation that same-sex couples are equal members of New Mexico’s diverse culture and must be given the same legal protections and respect as other families,” Shannon Price Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which joined the American Civil Liberties Union to bring the case to court, said in a statement.
In a written opinion, the court’s five justices agreed that marriage rights for same-sex couples are guaranteed under the equal-protection clause of the New Mexico Constitution, amended in 1972 to state that “equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person.”
Justices weighed this amendment against the opposition’s argument that prohibiting same-sex marriage was necessary to protect the government’s “overriding interest of responsible procreation and childrearing.”
The justices said in their opinion that such interest played no role in the development of the state’s marriage regulations. Its purpose, they contended, is to “bring stability and order to the legal relationship of committed couples” by defining their responsibilities to one another, as well as their children if they choose to have them, and to their property.
“Procreation,” wrote Justice Edward L. Chavez, author of the opinion, “has never been a condition of marriage under New Mexico law, as evidenced by the fact that the aged, the infertile and those who choose not to have children are not precluded from marrying.”
The decision capped years of failed attempts in the State Legislature to have same-sex marriage legalized, or banned. In March, six same-sex couples filed a lawsuit, bringing to court a battle that, until then, had been governed primarily by political interests.
In August, a district judge ordered the clerks in Bernalillo County - which encompasses the state’s most populous city, Albuquerque - and Santa Fe County, which includes the state’s capital, to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex partners. The 33 county clerks in New Mexico intervened, asking the State Supreme Court to resolve the issue.
Among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Ona Porter and Miriam Rand, who have been together for 26 years and have three children.
After the Supreme Court decision became public on Thursday, Ms. Rand said: “Our kids get to feel they matter both legally and by name.”
Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, chose to stay away from the dispute, although she has publicly taken the position that marriage should be between a man and a woman. On Thursday, she talked about a proposal to roll out high-tech research and development programs, and issued no comment on the court’s ruling.
The justices heard arguments on Oct. 23; spectators packed three rooms in the historic territorial courthouse in Santa Fe. By then, eight county clerks had begun granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. According to the state’s chapter of the A.C.L.U., more than 1,000 such couples have already been married in New Mexico.
An appeal of Thursday’s ruling is impossible, because it was issued by the state’s highest court and is specific to the state’s Constitution.
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