Nearly 140 faith leaders endorsed
legalizing gay marriage in New Mexico in a full page ad that ran on
Wednesday in 4 major newspapers.
The ads ran in the Albuquerque
Journal, The Santa Fe New Mexican, Las Cruces Sun News and The
Alibi.
“Today's ads represent the outpouring
of support among people of faith in New Mexico who know that every
gay or lesbian person is a member of someone's family, and should be
treated with compassion and respect,” said the Reverend David
Wilson Rogers, Pastor at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
in Carlsbad. “Many of us serve thousands of families every year
and the freedom to marry is consistent with our faith and our
values.”
The ad's headline reads: “We are
faith leaders. And we support the freedom to marry in New Mexico.”
The Why Marriage Matters New Mexico
campaign paid for the ad.
Pastor Harry Eberts of the First
Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe pointed out that churches would still
be protected if gay couples were allowed to marry.
“No church or faith leader would ever
have to perform marriages for couples if it went against their
religious beliefs or violated their church doctrine,” Ebets said in
a statement.
The New Mexico Supreme Court is
scheduled to hear arguments on October 23 in a case asking the court
to allow gay couples to marry in the state.
View
the full ad.