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New Mexico high court rules gay couples entitled to marriage, benefits rights

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New Mexico high court rules gay couples entitled to marriage, benefits rights

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to the same marriage rights, benefits and protections as heterosexual couples under the state's constitution.

The state's high court ruled unanimously in favor of six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses earlier this year, making New Mexico the 17th state overall to legalize gay marriage and seventh to do so in 2013.

“Same-gender couples who wish to enter into a civil marriage with another person of their choice and to the exclusion of all others are similarly situated to opposite-gender couples who want to do the same, yet they are treated differently,” Justice Edward Chavez said in the court's opinion. “Barring individuals from marrying and depriving them of the rights, protections, and responsibilities of civil marriage solely because of their sexual orientation violates the Equal Protection Clause of the New Mexico Constitution.”

Although marital law in New Mexico does not explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage, the court concluded that certain rules regarding the issuance of marriage licenses had effectively barred gay and lesbian couples from marrying.

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Specifically, the opinion cited language contained in the state's marriage license application form requiring a male and female applicant to be represented on the form — as well as signatures from both the “bride” and “groom” on all state-issued marriage certificates — as evidence of “a legislative intent to prohibit same-gender marriages.”

“The inability to legally marry has adversely impacted several of the plaintiff couples, who have endured significant familial and medical hardships together,” the opinion states. Among several examples noted in the opinion was that of two women — together for more than 25 years — who were each denied bereavement leave by their respective employers when their partner's mother died.

Earlier this year, judges in two lower courts declared the gender-specific application forms violated New Mexico's constitutional guarantee of equal protection for all similarly situated individuals. Following those rulings, eight of New Mexico's 33 counties began issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

As of Oct. 23, the date oral arguments in the case were presented to the New Mexico Supreme Court, county clerks had issued approximately 1,466 marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

“The varying positions of the courts and the county clerks regarding the issuance of licenses to same-gender couples created chaos statewide,” the opinion noted. “There are currently more than 1,400 same-gender couples whose New Mexico marriages may not be recognized for the purpose of receiving federal benefits due to the lingering uncertainty about the law in this state.”

The Supreme Court ordered the state to delete gender-specific language from its marriage license application and related documents and replace it with gender-neutral references to “applicants” and “spouses.” The court's ruling clarifies New Mexico's marriage law but does not order substantive changes.

“As a state, we have always strived to treat all families with dignity and respect, and today's decision allowing loving, committed same-sex couples to marry continues that tradition,” said Laura Schauer Ives, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, which represented the six plaintiff couples before the Supreme Court. “The more than 1,000 same-sex couples who have already married in New Mexico can now rest certain knowing their marriages will be recognized and respected by our state.”

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