New Mexico, Utah rule in favor of marriage equality

Two more states have joined the list of states allowing same-sex couples to be married. 

New Mexico became the 17th state on December 19 with an unequivocal ruling by the state Supreme Court. 

"Denying same-gender couples the right to marry and thus depriving them and their families of the rights, protections and responsibilities of civil marriage violates the equality demanded by the equal protection clause of the New Mexico Constitution," Justice Edward Chavez wrote in the 31-page opinion.

Eight counties were processing marriage applications by same-sex couples ahead of the ruling; the justices' decision extends the right statewide--and immediately.

The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage has vowed to overturn the ruling through a constitutional amendment, but that would require the approval of the Legislature and the voters. The move is not likely to succeed.

The states in yellow allow same-sex marriages; Utah (in green) has a favorable court ruling but the outcome remains uncertain.

The situation in Utah is a little more complex. A federal judge on December 20 relied on federal law to strike down Utah's law restricting marriage to a man and a woman.

"The State's current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry, and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason. Accordingly the court finds that these laws are unconstitutional," said federal District Judge Robert J. Shelby. 

Shelby wrote that Utah failed to prove that heterosexual marriages would be affected by same-sex marriages. "In the absence of such evidence, the State's unsupported fears and speculations are insufficient to justify the State's refusal to dignify the family relationships of its gay and lesbian citizens."

The reason the ruling in Utah can't be marked down as a definite victory is that the state Attorney General plans to ask the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling. The 10th Circuit is one of the more conservative jurisdictions in the country.

Moreover, Utah is one of the most conservative states in the Union. Only 28 percent of those surveyed by the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy support same-sex marriages. Utah has a high Mormon population, and nearly two in three in one recent poll oppose homosexuality.

Utah excluded, 17 states accounting for 38 percent of the United States population allow state-sex marriages. 

A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken in March showed that 58 percent of people surveyed nationwide support same-sex marriage, with 36 percent opposed.

Tweet