Two Counties in N.M. are Issuing Marriage Licenses

Just two days after a Doña Ana County Clerk began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a New Mexico judge has ordered Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Approximately 90 same-sex couples have already received licenses in Doña Ana County. A group of Republican lawmakers is planning a lawsuit to stop the county clerk from handing more licenses out.

The AP reports:

The order late Thursday from District Judge Sarah Singleton (pictured) comes in a lawsuit by two Santa Fe men and represents the first time a New Mexico judge has ruled that gay and lesbian couples can be married, said state Rep. Brian Egolf, a lawyer representing the couple.

Singleton said Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar must grant the marriage licenses or appear in court Sept. 26 to tell her why that shouldn’t happen. Salazar did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press.

Egolf said Friday the ruling could help speed a resolution of the gay marriage issue in the state…..Singleton, in her order, said that “reading a sex or sexual orientation requirement into the laws of New Mexico violates the state constitution, which mandates that ‘equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person.’”