Two lesbian couples on Wednesday filed
a lawsuit challenging New Mexico's refusal to issue them marriage
licenses.
The plaintiffs, Kim Kiel, 44, and Rose
Griego, 47, and Miriam Rand, 63, and Ona Lara Porter, 66, applied for
and were denied marriage licenses by the Bernalillo County Clerk.
The couples are being represented by
the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of New Mexico,
and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).
According
to an NCLR release, New Mexico is the only state in the nation
that does not either explicitly recognize gay couples through
marriage or civil unions or ban recognition of such unions by statute
or constitutional amendment.
“Marriage matters,” said Griego in
a statement. “Kim and I have already made a lifelong commitment to
one another, but marriage says 'family' in a way that no other word
can. It's important to us that the State of New Mexico – our home,
the place where we live, work and raised our family – recognizes
and respects our relationship.”
Kiel and Griego have been together for
8 years and live in Santa Fe, while Rand and Porter have been
together for 25 years and live in Albuquerque. Rand and Porter
raised three children and continue to care for their middle daughter,
who has multiple sclerosis, and their granddaughter, who has cerebral
palsy.
The suit comes two days after Santa Fe
Mayor David Coss and City Councilor Patti Bushee announced they are
backing a city resolution declaring that nothing in state law
prohibits gay couples from marrying. The resolution, expected to be
introduced Wednesday, is based partly on an opinion issued by City
Attorney Geno Zamora.
Zamora's legal memo says, “New
Mexico's statutory definition of marriage is gender-neutral. Since
New Mexico does not define marriage as between a man and a woman, and
since New Mexico does not prohibit same-sex marriage, same-sex
marriage is permitted in New Mexico.”
(Related: Gay
marriage legal in New Mexico, Santa Fe Mayor David Coss Argues.)