The New Mexico Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in the state Thursday, finding that not permitting it violated the state constitution's equal-protection clause.
New Mexico—which joins 16 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing same-sex marriage—didn't have a law or constitutional provision specifically outlawing the practice, as do many other states.
But supporters of gay marriage have argued that the state's marriage laws, which contain sex-specific references such as "wife" and "husband," effectively ban such unions.
The five justices of the New Mexico Supreme Court agreed with this view, noting in their opinion that "the statutes have the effect of precluding same-gender couples from marrying and benefiting from the rights" that attach to a civil marriage.
Opponents of same-sex nuptials, including a group of Republican legislators who intervened in the case, had argued that banning the practice furthered legitimate state interests, such as "responsible procreation and child-rearing."
The court rejected that argument, saying procreation "had never been a condition of marriage" in New Mexico."Therefore, barring individuals from marrying and depriving them of the rights, protections, and responsibilities of civil marriage solely because of their sexual orientation violates the Equal Protection Clause."
James Campbell, a lawyer representing the GOP lawmakers, said: "The New Mexico Supreme Court ignored [a] time-tested understanding of marriage and replaced it with the recently conceived notion that marriage means special government recognition for close relationships."
Laura Schauer Ives, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico who represented the plaintiffs, said, "As a state, we have always strived to treat all families with dignity and respect, and today's decision allowing loving, committed same-sex couples to marry continues that tradition."
Susana Martinez, the state's Republican governor and an opponent of same-sex marriage, said the issue "should have been settled by a vote of the people." Ms. Martinez, who has been mentioned as a possible 2016 vice-presidential pick, said, "I encourage New Mexicans to continue to respect one another in their discourse, as this is an important issue for many New Mexicans on both sides."
The case took an unusual path to the state's highest court. Earlier this year, eight of New Mexico's 33 counties began issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, with more than 1,400 of them issued since August. The result was a patchwork of inconsistency, prompting county officials to ask the Supreme Court to provide a statewide ruling. Some of their counties supported same-sex marriage, others didn't.
On Thursday, the court ruled that county clerks must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and ordered courts to recognize licenses issued to same-sex couples before Thursday's ruling.
A number of New Mexicans reacted favorably to the ruling on Thursday, including Herb Hohn, a 73-year-old retired resident of Placitas, N.M. "It's a matter of personal freedom," he said. "If people love each other, then they should be able to enjoy the benefits of the institution of marriage."
—Nathan Koppel contributed to this article.
Write to Ashby Jones at ashby.jones@wsj.com


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Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012



Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.