Marriage Equality
We feel very fortunate that we are able to marry legally in New Mexico, and we believe strongly that marriage is a civil and human right and that all committed couples should have the freedom to marry if they so choose. We are honored that the year of our wedding has coincided with the year in which New Mexico finally achieved marriage equality.
This year has brought a flood of exciting developments for marriage equality, both in New Mexico and nationwide. First, we were delighted by the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26, 2013 decision in Windsor v. U.S. striking down the "Defense of Marriage Act" as a violation of the constitution's due process and equal protection guarantees, as well as by its decision to let stand the Ninth Circuit's overruling of Proposition 8, a decision that legalizes same-sex marriages in California. These decisions meant that nearly a third of Americans lived in a state that fully recognizes marriage equality. At the end of August, the IRS announced that all same-sex couples who are legally married will be recognized as such for federal tax purposes, regardless of the laws of the state they are currently living in.
Yet until December of this year, New Mexico remained the only state in the nation whose laws did not explicitly allow or prohibit marriage for same-sex couples. In March of 2013, Santa Fe mayor David Coss came out in favor of marriage equality and urged county clerks in New Mexico to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A few days later, the ACLU filed suit on behalf of two same-sex couples who had sought and been denied marriage licenses in Albuquerque. The following month, the Santa Fe City Council approved a resolution in support of marriage equality in New Mexico. In June, a same-sex couple in Santa Fe who had been denied a marriage license filed a lawsuit similar to the one in Albuquerque, and Attorney General (and Democratic gubernatorial candidate) Gary King came out in favor of marriage equality, although he declined to issue an official attorney general's opinion on the matter due to the pending litigation. On July 30, the Santa Fe County Commission passed a resolution expressing its support for marriage equality in New Mexico.
Then, on August 21, 2013, Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and Attorney General King declined to intervene (in contrast to a similar instance nine years ago, when the Attorney General stepped in to stop the Sandoval County Clerk from issuing such licenses). The Doña Ana County Commission voted 4-1 to support the actions taken by Ellins.
Two days later, District Judge Sarah Singleton ordered the Santa Fe County Clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as well, and by the end of that day, about 45 licenses had been issued and 20 couples had wed in our beautiful home city.
On Monday, August 26, 2013, Judge Alan Malott issued a broad ruling ordering Bernalillo County, New Mexico's most populous county, to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Bernalillo County Clerk (and Kristina's cousin!) Maggie Toulouse Oliver had already ordered 1,000 gender-neutral licenses, and she began issuing them at 8:00 a.m. the next morning. At noon that day, a mass marriage ceremony was held in Albuquerque's Civic Plaza.
In the following days, San Miguel, Valencia, Taos and Grant counties also began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and a judge has ordered Los Alamos county to do the same. Meanwhile, Republican politicians proceeded to file suit to stop county clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples (and invalidate the licenses already issued), and the state's county clerks sought an expedited ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court so that the law will be consistent across the state. On September 7, 2013, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear the case starting on October 23.
Two months after the oral arguments, on December 19, 2013, the New Mexico Supreme Court handed down a sweeping decision finding that denying marriage rights to same-sex couples violated the Equal Protection clause of the New Mexico constitution: "We hold that the State of New Mexico is constitutionally required to allow same-gender couples to marry and must extend to them the rights, protections, and responsibilities that derive from civil marriage under New Mexico law." (You can read the full decision here.)
New Mexico is one of nine states that began recognizing marriage equality in 2013, equaling the number of states that had recognized it in all previous years.
This fight is far from over, but we are thrilled and gratified that our marriage has come at a time when all of our fellow New Mexicans are able to join us, regardless of their sexual orientation. More than 1,000 same-sex couples have married in our state in the month before our ceremony, and we look forward to a day in the near future when marriage equality is a reality across the nation. In the meantime, we encourage you to learn more about this issue and consider supporting the groups working for it.