New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds Marriage Equality for Same-Sex Couples
Published at | Updated at(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — New Mexico Thursday became the latest state to allow same sex marriages. In a 5 to 0 ruling, New Mexico’s highest court handed down the judgement.
Until Thursday, New Mexico had been the only state that had no law or official judicial ruling regarding same-sex marriage. Some county clerks had been issuing marriage licenses to gay couple since the summer, prompting the case decided in court Thursday.
“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,” the New Mexico Supreme Court ruling states.
Gay marriage is now legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio