A New Mexico House committee on
Thursday killed a bill which sought to let voters decide whether gay
marriage should be legal in the state.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Brian
Egolf, a Democrat from Santa Fe, earlier this month cleared the
Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a 3-2 vote.
But a majority of members on the House
Voters and Elections Committee disagreed. Two Democrats joined the
panel's five Republicans to kill the measure with a 7-4 vote, the El
Paso Times reported.
Glen Stock, pastor of Pecos Valley
Cowboy Church, testified against the measure, telling committee
members that “The same God we ask to bless America said, 'You shall
not lay with a man as with a woman.' That is an abomination.”
Former state representative Andy Nunez
also testified against the measure: “They can go to Canada and get
married, or somewhere else.”
Remarks in support of the measure from
House Speaker Ken Martinez, a Democrat from Grants and a committee
member, reportedly moved several people in the audience to tears.