Roosevelt County, New Mexico on Monday
issued its first marriage license to a gay couple.
Following a ruling in December by the
New Mexico Supreme Court legalizing such unions in the state, County
Clerk Donna Carpenter and her chief deputy, Janet Collins, tendered
their resignations, saying that they objected to issuing marriage
licenses to gay couples.
(Related: New
Mexico: 17th
state to legalize gay marriage.)
“I must obey God's law,” Carpenter
stated in her resignation letter. “Disobedience of God's laws will
never solve society's problems.”
According to KRQE,
county commissioners appointed Deaun Searl as interim county clerk
during an emergency meeting. It was uncertain whether Searl would
run for election in November's general election.
Searl issued the county's first
marriage license to two men, who said they had no idea they would be
the first.