October 23, 2013
NM Court Won't Immediately Decide Gay Marriage Case
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.
New Mexico's highest court says it won't issue an immediate decision in a case that could decide whether gay marriage is legal statewide.
The state Supreme Court will hear two hours of arguments from lawyers in the case on Wednesday.
The court clerk told lawyers last week that the court won't make a decision on the day of the hearing but will take the case under consideration.
The justices will hear one hour of arguments on constitutional issues and an hour on issues about state statutes involving marriage.
New Mexico law doesn't explicitly authorize or prohibit gay marriage, but a state district court in Albuquerque has ruled it's unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Eight of New Mexico's 33 counties are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
