New Mexico Senate Kills Bill Giving Equal Rights to Gays

After brief debate, a bill that would have given registered domestic partners in New Mexico the same rights as married couples was rejected yesterday, despite last minute re-writes to the bill:

"Supporters of the bill did a last-minute rewrite to remove references that could be construed as marriage-related, but that wasn't enough to win the necessary votes. Ten Democrats joined the chamber's 15 Republicans to defeat the bill 25-17. 'I'm disappointed by the Senate's actions today in defeating what is fundamentally an issue of civil rights and equality,' said Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who has been pushing the legislation for several years. The bill has gotten snared in the Senate for the past couple of years, although the House has passed it previously. It would have allowed gay or straight unmarried couples to register as domestic partners and have the same legal protections and benefits as married couples. There are still three weeks left in the legislative session, but it appeared unlikely the measure could be revived. 'If you're mad, you should be mad,' Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico, told a dejected crowd outside the Capitol. 'The people in this building said you are not equal, you are not worthy, you do not deserve the same rights as most of them have.' Siegle said religious groups were influential in the bill's defeat."

Equality New Mexico's  Siegle and Peter Simonson of the ACLU address supporters after the vote, AFTER THE JUMP...

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New Mexico Domestic Partner Bill Dies in Committee

A tie vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee halted the advancement of a domestic partner bill in New Mexico which was approved by a Public Affairs committee last week.

The bill is technically still alive, the Las Cruces Sun News reports:

"Gov. Bill Richardson hasn't given up on getting it passed during the 60-day session. 'We're just going to have to keep working. ... We'd like to get it to a floor vote,' said Eric Witt, the governor's legislative liaison. 'From the governor's viewpoint, this is an issue of fundamental human rights, and we'll keep fighting for it,' he said. But the Judiciary Committee would remain a roadblock. 'We need one more vote in that committee to get it out, and we don't think we can get it,' said Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico. The bill would give certain unmarried couples — homosexual or heterosexual — the same legal protections and benefits as married couples. Opponents say it would, in effect, legally recognize gay marriage...One Democrat, Sen. Richard Martinez of Española, joined the four Republicans on the judiciary panel to block the bill on a 5-5 vote. Yet another Democrat, Bernadette Sanchez of Albuquerque, was not in the committee room for the vote but said later she also is opposed to the legislation. She would vote against it if it were to come up again, she said."

Push for Domestic Partnerships Underway in New Mexico

A domestic partners bill has begun to make its way through the New Mexico legislature, getting a narrow 5-4 approval from the Senate Public Affairs Committee Wednesday. The bill now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee:

"Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, said Wednesday night that unlike last year he had enough votes to push the bill through his committee. If that happens, the bill could go before the entire Senate for a floor vote as soon as next week. Advocates say that after three years of lobbying this year represents the best shot for New Mexico to become the first state in the middle of the U.S. to extend many of the same rights enjoyed by married couples to same-sex couples, which is what domestic partnerships would do. With the exception of Hawaii, all the states that recognize same sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships are on the East Coast or West Coast."

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