On August 21, Doña Ana made the historic step in becoming the first county in New Mexico to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Since then, seven other counties have followed suit and well over half of all New Mexicans now live in marriage equality counties. However, on Friday the New Mexico Supreme Court agreed to decide once and for all on the legality of same-sex marriage in the state.
With over $10,000 in legal fees accrued already, and more expenses looming on the horizon as the case heads to the Supreme Court, an online donation service has been created to help Doña Ana County cover the legal costs of defending their pro-equality decision.
From their website:
"[Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn] Evans (pictured) is mindful that not all of his constituents agree with the principal or the ideology behind his decision, and he has stated his intention not to spend taxpayer funds defending his decision to issue licenses. Legal action has now been filed and legal costs will begin to climb rapidly
We're asking you to support Mr. Ellins and his daring leadership by making a donation to help cover legal costs already incurred, as well as legal costs that may be lurking in the near future. In the event that we receive more contributions than we need to cover the actual costs, we'll donate the excess to an organization that will continue to fight for equal rights for all New Mexicans in every sense of the word."
$17,000 of the $40,000 goal has already been donated. You can help make sure equality is well defended in New Mexico by heading over to their website HERE and making a donation.
