The New Mexico Supreme Court said it will hold a hearing on whether same-sex marriage should be legal throughout the entire state next month.
The state’s highest court will hold the hearing on Oct. 23, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The decision, handed down on Friday, comes after all 33 New Mexico county clerks took legal action to push the Supreme Court to weigh in on the legality of gay marriage.
All five of the Supreme Court judges concurred that there should be a review of the state’s marriage laws, according to Reuters.
Since August, a few clerks have been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under the state’s ambiguous language on marriage. Some clerks have issued the marriage licenses only after a judge ordered them to. The decision to issue marriage licenses has prompted calls for the New Mexico Supreme Court to settle the issue once and for all. The high court has previously refused requests to take up same-sex marriage lawsuits.
Seven New Mexico counties have begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples over the last few weeks. An eighth county, Grant County, is expected to begin issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples this week.
