Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Santa Fe: Press conference on marriage equality resolution



As I wrote yesterday, the mayor of Santa Fe, David Coss, and Councilor Patti Bushee, have announced that they have looked at the laws and constitution of New Mexico and found that there is nothing in New Mexico state law that prohibits same-sex marriage.

Here's video of Coss's press conference yesterday, along with Councilor Patti Bushee and City Attorney Geno Zamora.

They announced they will introduce a resolution at the next city council meeting on March 27th stating that marriage equality is legal in New Mexico.

Excerpt from Zamora's speech:
"Currently, today, under the existing laws on the books...same-sex marriage is legal. This argument consists of four points.

First and most importantly, New Mexico does not define same-sex marriage  as a marriage between a man and a woman. These statutes define it as gender neutral between two parties.

Secondly, New Mexico validly recognizes same-sex marriage from other states.

Third, under New Mexico statue, a marriage license is not permitted to be denied based on the sex of the couple.

Finally, we have a New Mexico constitution that guarantees equal rights on the basis of sex. To deny equal rights to same-sex partners is to violate the New Mexico constitution.

Same-sex marriage is legal in New Mexico. It's legal for our brothers and sisters, for our parents, for our nephews and nieces, and for our friends."

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