NM County Clerk Gives To Gay Marriage Campaign

Bobby McGuire READ TIME: 1 MIN.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - A southern New Mexico county clerk who faced a lawsuit for issuing same-sex marriage licenses is donating the rest of his defense fund to a pro-gay marriage campaign.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins plans to give the money to New Mexico Unites for Marriage Equality.

Ellins, who announced his decision Friday, says a few thousand dollars are left.

In September, a website raised $33,067 for Ellins' defense in a lawsuit filed by a group of state legislators challenging the issue of the licenses. Another $3,000 came from mail-in donations.

Dona Ana County officials say Ellins' legal expenses were about $31,000.

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in December that barring same-sex couples from getting marriage licenses was unconstitutional.


by Bobby McGuire

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