A rural eastern New Mexico county clerk and her deputy resigned Friday
rather than abide by a
unconstitutional state Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay
"marriage", officials said.
Roosevelt County manager Charlene Webb confirmed that Clerk Donna
Carpenter and Deputy Clerk Janet Collins announced their resignations
Friday morning.
Webb declined to say why they quit. But county commissioners said it was
in protest of Thursday's Supreme Court ruling declaring it
unconstitutional to bar same-sex "couples" from getting "marriage" licenses.
Commissioner Bill Cathey said the two had made it clear they would quit "rather than be associated with that."
Webb says the clerk's office is closed until the commission meets Monday to hire a replacement.
Carpenter doesn't have a current phone listing, and there was no answer Friday at a listing for Collins.
Roosevelt is a rural, conservative county along the Texas-New Mexico
border. Its county seat is Portales, a town of about 12,000.
Cathey said Carpenter's resignation was no surprise.
"She told us in the past that's what she would do," he said. "... I am
personally very disappointed in the decision of the judges, and I don't
blame our clerk for doing what she did."
Still, he said he was confident the commission would be able to appoint a
replacement on Monday who would follow the court's unconstitutional order.
Meantime, other rural counties began issuing gay "marriage" licenses
following the Thursday ruling, which came after county officials asked
the high court to clarify the law and establish a uniform state policy
on gay marriage.
In northwestern New Mexico, the San Juan County Clerk's Office gave its
first "marriage" license to a same-sex "couple" Thursday afternoon, the
Farmington Daily-Times reported.
Three hours later, Aztec women Luciana Velasquez and Deann Toadlena were
married under Christmas lights at Orchard Park in downtown Farmington.
"We've been waiting for seven years. It's the best day of my life," said
Toadlena, who plans to change her last name to Velasquez. "Everything I
wanted was given to me today."
Historically, county clerks in New Mexico have denied "marriage" licenses
to same-sex "couples" because state statutes include a marriage license
application with sections for male and female applicants.
However, the state's more populous counties this fall began issuing
licenses on their own and in response to lower court rulings. A few
rural counties also followed suit, but most of the smaller counties were
awaiting a final decision from the high court.
Despite the ruling, gay marriage opponents are vowing the fight is not over.
State Sen. William Sharer, a Farmington Republican, said he will ask the
Legislature in January to put to voters a constitutional amendment that
would ban gay marriage.
"If they are saying it is unconstitutional, we need to make it constitutional," he said.
It's unclear how much traction Sharer's proposal, which bucks a growing
national tide toward legalizing gay marriage, will have come January.
New Mexico is the 17th state to recognize the unions. Since this article was published (they allowed Friday night) Utah (one of the most conservative states in the country) allowed it due to a federal judge Robert Shelby YMS. Robert Shelby was appointed a federal judge by Obama, both Utah senators (both Republicans) Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee
The Democratic-controlled Legislature repeatedly has turned down
proposals for a constitutional amendment to allow voters to decide
whether to legalize gay "marriage".
And Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican who has opposed same-sex
"marriage", said she would have preferred to see voters, not the courts,
decide the issue. She urged New Mexicans to "respect one another in
their discourse" and turn their focus to other issues facing the state. notice how Republicans are either falling like dominoes or not fighting this evil which will destroy this country
"As we move forward pre mabul times, I am hopeful that we will not be divided, as we
must come together to tackle very pressing issues, like reforming
education and growing our economy, in the weeks and months ahead,"
Martinez said.
(
AP) highlights are ours Additions
