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For Immediate Release
February, 20 2014, 02:53pm EDT
Contact:
Angela Dallara
Media Relations Manager, Freedom to Marry
angela@freedomtomarry.org
646-430-3925
NM Concludes Session Upholding the Freedom to Marry with Bipartisan Support
In an historic victory for the freedom to marry in New Mexico, the state's legislative session ended today and, by its inaction, resoundingly rejected a proposal that sought to strike down the state Supreme Court's unanimous ruling for marriage.
New York
In an historic victory for the freedom to marry in New Mexico, the state's legislative session ended today and, by its inaction, resoundingly rejected a proposal that sought to strike down the state Supreme Court's unanimous ruling for marriage.
The Senate bill, which threatened the Court's December 2013 ruling, failed to garner any support from either party. In fact, the bill was never heard by any legislative committee and never received a single vote. Even Republican Gov. Susana Martinez refused to be drawn into any debate, saying at the beginning of the session that the freedom to marry was now "the law of the land."
Freedom to Marry, along with other national and local partners, was an active strategist and funder of the newly formed New Mexico Unites for Marriage (NMUM) which was launched to protect the marriage law. NMUM quickly grew to a robust, grassroots operation, identifying 12,000 new supporters for the freedom to marry and logging in over 700 calls to legislators.
"This was an amazing effort that demonstrated the majority support in New Mexico for the freedom to marry," said Thalia Zepatos, Freedom to Marry's director of public engagement and a key member of the NMUM senior strategy team. "New Mexican families everywhere can now rest easy knowing that their marriages and families are secure and safe.
"In the end, as we're finding in so many other states, the freedom to marry was protected by bipartisan support. We're indebted to the leadership of our co-chairs, including former Gov. Gary Johnson, a libertarian who speaks directly to many New Mexicans who believe that freedom means freedom for everyone."
"The timing of today's victory bodes well as two important federal court challenges to marriage bans are headed to the 10th Circuit Court in Denver," added Zepatos. "New Mexico is one of the six states served by that court and we hope the resounding silence by its political and legislative leaders to challenge the freedom to marry resonates with the justices."
Freedom to Marry is proud to be an active partner in New Mexico Unites for Marriage and work directly with the following local and national organizations: Equality New Mexico, ACLU NM, ProgressNow NM, America Votes NM, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights, ACLU, and Our America.
Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Headed by Evan Wolfson, one of America's leading civil rights advocates and lawyers, Freedom to Marry brings new resources and a renewed context of urgency and opportunity to this social justice movement.
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