New Mexico is the latest U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. The state's highest court has declared that denying a marriage license to gay and lesbian couples is unconstitutional. The report from the state's Supreme Court found that "prohibiting same-gender marriages is not substantially related to the governmental interests advanced by the parties opposing same-gender marriage or to the purposes we have identidied. Therefore, barring individuals from marrying and depiving them of the fights, protections and responsibilities of civil marriage solely because of their sexual orientation violates...the New Mexico Constitution."
Marriage licences were issued to same-sex couples by eight counties in the state starting in August: the state's constitution does not explicitly prohibit gay marriage. However, county officials asked the court to clarify the law in order to establish a state-wide policy on same-sex marriage. The report from the court continued saying "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."
New Mexico joins Delaware, Minnesota, Illinois, Hawaii and New Jersey which have all legalized same-sex marriage this year. The state's 33 county clerks joined the lawsuit in favor of marriage equality, paving the way for the case to be quickly reviewed by the Supreme Court.
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