JUDGE GIVES THE GO AHEAD FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN BERNALILLO COUNTY

By
Pastor Dewey Moede
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1
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District Judge Alan Malott finds traditional marriage in NM unconstitutional.
District Judge Alan Malott finds traditional marriage in NM unconstitutional.
District Judge Alan Malott finds traditional marriage in NM unconstitutional.
District Judge Alan Malott finds traditional marriage in NM unconstitutional.

The Floodgates of same-sex marriage continue to open in New Mexico: This afternoon a  District court hearing in Albuquerque  gave the go ahead  for marriage licenses for same-sex couples in Bernalillo County.

In yet another example of judicial activism, District Judge Alan Malott on Monday ordered the Bernalillo County clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying New Mexico laws that might seem to prevent them are unconstitutional.
The judge chose to ignore hundreds of years of established law to find in the US constitution rights that were never intended. Lawlessness prevails at the District court level.

Malott issued the dramatic order after a brief hearing in 2nd Judicial District Court in Albuquerque.

The judge ordered the clerks of Bernalillo County and Santa Fe County to follow their statutory duty and issue marriage licenses “without regard to the couples’ sexual orientation or gender.

Malott said any seeming prohibitions in New Mexico statutes against same-sex marriage “are unconstitutional and unenforceable.”

Read District Judge Alan Malott Order: 20130826_161454

The motion Malott ruled on, asks that a Santa Fe couple be allowed to join five other couples in a previously filed lawsuit challenging New Mexico’s opposition to granting same-sex marriage licenses.
The Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office has printed around 1,000 marriage licenses that could be issued to same-sex couples. The difference? The new licenses say, “spouse and spouse.” The old licenses read, “bride and groom.”

They plan to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Laura Schauer Ives, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, called it a “monumental ruling” and said the group didn’t expect such a broad decision by the judge.

“We were stunned and amazed,” she said.

Monday morning, couples were lined up in Santa Fe waiting for the clerk’s office to open. Before noon, another 64 same-sex couples had received licenses there.

Also last week, Doña Ana County clerk Lynn Ellins began on his own issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He started issuing the licenses Wednesday. Ellins said 137 couples from around the state and from neighboring Texas got licenses last week, and 12 more had received them by midmorning Monday.

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