For a day, gay weddings bloomed in unlikely New Mexico county26 same-sex licenses issued before attorney general halts process
11:20 PM CST on Friday, February 20, 2004
SANTA FE, N.M. – A semi-rural county in New Mexico on Friday became the nation's second in recent weeks to issue same-sex wedding licenses, but by the end of the day those licenses were declared invalid by the state's attorney general.
The ruling, by Attorney General Patricia Madrid, put the brakes on a rollercoaster day that found New Mexico at the center of one of the country's hottest topics.
It began in Sandoval County after a Republican county clerk received a request for a same-sex marriage license and said she found nothing in state law that made it illegal.
"There's nothing in the law that I can find that would prohibit issuing same-sex marriage licenses," said County Clerk Victoria Dunlap. "I'm sure New Mexico will become the next test ground [for gay marriage]. We're fairly open-minded here, despite the rural area we're living in."
News traveled fast, and by Friday afternoon, lines of same-sex couples, hugging and making new acquaintances, snaked out the door of the Sandoval County clerk's office in Bernalillo, north of Albuquerque. By the time the attorney general's opinion came down, 26 marriage licenses had registered, said Melinda Foster of the Sandoval County clerk's office. Some of those couples were married in ceremonies on the street outside the courthouse.
One of those who received a license was Jim Walker, an Albuquerque archaeologist who has been in a committed relationship with another man for 26 years.
"I woke up and heard on the radio that Sandoval County was issuing marriage licenses, so I took a little time off work and decided to get married," he said. Mr. Walker said he and his partner were married in October in Toronto and reserved tickets to Massachusetts with the intent of becoming legally married in the United States. It had never occurred to him he could do such a thing closer to home.
"This is something a lot of people never thought they would see in their lifetime," said Mr. Walker, describing a scene with "a lot of happy people, a lot of tears and a lot of hugging."
Ms. Madrid's opinion halted the clerk from issuing any addition licenses. A crowd outside the office reacted with boos and shouts while a deputy clerk read the attorney general's legal advice.
"Until the laws are changed through the legislative process or declared unconstitutional by the judicial process, the statutes limit marriage in New Mexico to a man and a woman," Ms. Madrid wrote. "Thus in my judgment, no county clerk should issue a marriage license to same-sex couples because those licenses would be invalid under current law."
Mr. Walker was disappointed and felt she had read things into state statutes.
"That's not what the statute says," he said. "It's gender neutral."
State law defines marriage as a civil contract between contracting parties but it does not mention gender. A 1961 statute that created the form used for marriage licenses asks for information about the male and female applicants.
But the Equal Rights Act of 1973 outlaws discrimination based on sex, said Sandoval County Attorney David Mathews.
In nearby – and generally more liberal – Santa Fe, County Clerk Rebecca Bustamante said she and the state's 32 other county clerks were disappointed in Sandoval County's position on issuing licenses. She said that in 1997 she turned away a same-sex couple who had requested a license.
"We would not have done it. That's a decision that needs to be made by the courts and the legislature. As clerks we do not take an oath of office to make law but to uphold the law," she said.
Ultimately the issue will be left to the courts and lawmakers to decide, according to various people.
"If New Mexico wants to codify same-sex marriages it would entail a different interpretation by the courts or a legislative change," said attorney general spokesperson Sam Thompson.
Some gay-rights advocates said they were not necessarily deflated by the developments on Friday.
"The attorney general's statement is an advisory decision, an initial review," said Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for the Coalition for Equality, a gay and lesbian rights group in New Mexico. "We'll be working with members of the legislature to look at all the options available to us."
Ms. Siegle said that the issue was not brought up by gays and lesbians in New Mexico.
"This was initiated by a Republican clerk to force the issue," said Ms. Siegle "This is not how we wanted the issue to come about. It's a long-term process."
Sandoval County, which lies southwest of Santa Fe, includes massive tracts of undeveloped land and one of the state's fastest-growing communities, Rio Arriba, on the fringes of Albuquerque. It is home to Intel Corp's semiconductor plant, said to be the largest in the world. The county's population of 90,000 also includes all or part of nine different Indian pueblos.
State Sen. Steve Komadina, a Republican who represents Sandoval County, said he was surprised the issue of same-sex marriage licenses came up in his district, just north of Albuquerque. "I would have expected, if it were going to occur anywhere it would occur in Santa Fe."
Gay rights in general have been an issue in the New Mexico Legislature, he said, but not same sex marriage specifically. Still, "There's no question, gay activism is alive and well in the land of enchantment," he said.
Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson on Friday stayed mum on the subject but in the past has voiced opposition to gay marriage while stating that he does support equal rights for same-sex couples.
New Mexico has always been a nexus for alternative lifestyles, and plans for two gay and lesbian retirement centers are in the beginning stages due to Santa Fe's tolerant climate.
Individuals like Mr. Walker had never expected to have a legal license to marry in New Mexico, and especially on such short notice. It's just a continuation of their fight for equal rights living as gay and lesbian people, Mr. Walker said.
"And anyway, we're still married in Canada."
Staff Writer Diane Jennings in Dallas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Zelie Pollon is a Santa Fe, N.M., free-lance writer
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/022104dnnatnmmarriage.3fa7e.html
