Relief -- but still worry -- in New Mexico as Respect for Marriage Act moves forward

Dec. 1—Alex Hanna, like many New Mexicans, was thrilled Tuesday when the U.S. Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act.

He and Yon Hudson, his husband of eight years, were at the forefront of the battle to legalize same-sex marriage in New Mexico. They filed a lawsuit in state District Court in 2013 against a Santa Fe County clerk because she had denied them a marriage license. The couple then hired local attorney Brian Egolf — now the outgoing state House speaker — to take their case to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Later that year, the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage; the U.S. Supreme Court followed in 2015 with a ruling that applied nationwide.

"Obviously, we're very happy this has happened," Hanna said of Tuesday's bipartisan vote.

Still, he said he finds it "worrisome" that the nation needs an act of Congress to protect marriage rights.

"It's sort of crazy we would need to have this happen," said Hanna, who runs Invisible City Designs in downtown Santa Fe. "It seems like it should have been resolved by now. The fact that we need to codify these things is a little bit scary when you think about the U.S. Supreme Court."

He was referring to a high court with a conservative majority whose decisions have had sweeping effects across the nation, including one that overturned the landmark 1973 in Roe v. Wade ruling that established abortion rights.

Many people fear the court will also overturn the 2015 ruling on same-sex marriage.

People of faith in New Mexico, political leaders and other advocates of the LGBTQ community applauded the Senate action, which aims to ensure marriage protection for interracial couples as well as those of the same gender and would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. That law, signed by President Bill Clinton, defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The Rev. Talitha Arnold of the United Church of Santa Fe recalled her reaction when she heard about the Senate vote: "Hallelujah! It's about time."

The Respect for Marriage Act, expected to be signed into law after a concurrence vote in the House of Representatives, will not force states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples but would require states to recognize marriages performed in states that issue valid licenses.

Hanna said he is grateful a dozen Republicans joined Democrats in the U.S. Senate to approve the federal legislation.

They "know enough people who are in gay marriages, whether it is their nephews or neighbors, and realize this is the way things are," Hanna said. "There's no need to fight for it; it's normal and acceptable."

Arnold, who said she has conducted countless same-sex marriages since the late 1980s, said, "Having the Senate affirm this is a signal to LGBTQ people and their loved ones that they are full citizens."

It also shows youth in the LGBTQ community, who might experience bullying and discrimination, "there's a bigger world out there. And that's a great message," she said.

Santa Fe resident Emily Almond, who married her partner, Mary Walters, in 2017 in Georgia, said the Senate's vote to pass the marriage protection law means "we decided as a country that we are legitimate, that we matter just as much as anyone else."

State Rep. Roger Montoya, D-Velarde, said he felt "proud of the expediency to act in this troubling moment in democracy where constitutional rights are being stripped."

Like Hanna, Montoya said Justice Clarence Thomas' suggestion earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court might revisit its ruling on same-sex marriage "was a real lurch back to the 1950s that came out of nowhere."

He said he hopes the Respect for Marriage Act, which is supported by President Joe Biden, "will hold."

Even if the legislation is signed into law, said Albuquerque attorney Dorene Kuffer, who handles cases involving LGBTQ rights, some legal details will remain uncertain.

"From a legal standpoint, there are questions of how this will shake out in the end ... [including] when you are dealing with custody of children, presumptions of parentage and whether, when a party is divorcing, they can get a divorce" in a state where they were not married.

She called the bill "a good step" toward marriage protections.

Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber had a stronger view of the legislation.

Noting the court's controversial decision that paved the way for states to severely restrict or ban abortion access, he called the Senate's vote on Respect for Marriage a "preemptory signal to stop taking people's rights away."