And then there were four. Following Dona Ana, Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties (the three largest in the state), San Miguel County, outside of Santa Fe, will become the fourth in the state to issue gender neutral marriage licenses:
San Miguel County Clerk Melanie Rivera confirmed to ProgressNowNM this morning that her office is preparing to issue same-sex marriage licenses to applicants, bringing to the total to 4 the number of counties no longer prohibiting same-sex couples from obtaining licenses to marry.
Reached by phone this morning, County Clerk Rivera confirmed that she had ordered new gender-neutral licenses and will begin issuing them later this week once they are received from the printer.
Rivera also stated that couples who did not wish to wait could apply and receive a license today. Until the new licenses arrive Rivera will make the changes to the old forms by hand.
Following the adoption by the Santa Fe City Council of a groundbreaking legal opinion recognizing same-sex marriage under existing law, the Dona Ana County Clerk began issuing licenses last week. Santa Fe and Bernalillo County clerks began issuing licenses Friday and today respectively after seeking an order permitting them to do so from the courts.
This is fun!
