NM Judge Rules Laws Against Gay Marriage Unconstitutional

Several counties are ready to go

District Judge Alan Malott on Monday ordered the Bernalillo County clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying New Mexico laws that might seem to prevent them are unconstitutional.

Malott  issued the dramatic order after a brief hearing in 2nd Judicial District Court in Albuquerque.

The judge ordered the clerks of Bernalillo County and Santa Fe County to follow their statutory duty and issue marriage licenses "without regard to the couples' sexual orientation or gender."

Malott said any seeming prohibitions in New Mexico statutes against same-sex marriage "
are unconstitutional and unenforceable."