New Mexico Clerk Resigns Rather Than Issue Marriage Licenses To Gay Couples

A New Mexico county clerk on Friday resigned rather than issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Roosevelt County Clerk Donna Carpenter and her chief deputy, Janet Collins, tendered their resignations a day after a New Mexico Supreme Court ruling legalized gay marriage in the state.

(Related: New Mexico: 17^th state to legalize gay marriage.)

ProgressNowNM confirmed that Carpenter objected to issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

“We respect that these women made a tough decision,” Pat Davis of ProgressNowNM said in a statement emailed to On Top Magazine. “In the end, their decision to resign is honorable if they feel that they are unable to execute their duties under the law. All of our county clerks deserve credit for coming together to ask for a definitive decision on this issue of equality and we look forward to every clerk in the state offering licenses to every loving couple in their county.”