On Thursday, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that to deny same sex couple the right to marry in that state violates the equal protection clause in their state constitution.
New Mexico becomes the 17th state to legalize marriage equality, joining California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
Welcome to the club!
Indiana:
The deep red state of Indiana is one of four states that bans same sex marriage by statute only. There has been recent movement among conservatives to add the ban of same sex marriage to the state's constitution The constitutional change would also ban civil unions and disallow benefits to same sex couples.
But proponents of marriage equality are fighting back. The fledgling group Freedom Indiana is contacting big money donors and running nightly phone banks; and they report that support is growing. The word seems to be that the ban-marriage-equality fight has gone too far by proposing a constitutional amendment that includes banning civil unions and benefits. Indiana is definitely a Republican state; but some, including business owners there, are beginning to see the writing on the wall. They worry that the ban will hurt their efforts to recruit the best employees.
Several conservative Republican law makers who voted for the statute ban previously have weighed in saying they would not support a constitutional ban. Republicans all over the state are feeling the pressure. If the constitutional amendment fails to pass, incumbent Republicans will have to face challenges by more conservative members of their party during the state's May primaries. If they put the issue on the state ballot, that could increase Democratic turn out in the November elections.
This could be the fight to watch in 2014. Looking forward to victory!
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