New Mexico Supreme Court Won’t Immediately Issue Ruling On Same-Sex Marriage

Santa Fe County Commissioner Liz Stefonics, left, and Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico, hold hands after they were married in the Santa Fe County Commission Chambers, Friday Aug. 23, 2013 in Santa Fe,... Santa Fe County Commissioner Liz Stefonics, left, and Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico, hold hands after they were married in the Santa Fe County Commission Chambers, Friday Aug. 23, 2013 in Santa Fe, N.M. The county clerk in the New Mexico state capital and the heart of this state's gay rights movement began issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples Friday, a court-ordered move that came just two days after a county clerk on the other end of the state decided on his own to recognize same-sex marriage. (AP Photo/The Albuquerque Journal, Eddie Moore) THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT: EDDIE MOORE/THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL MORE LESS
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New Mexico’s Supreme Court won’t immediately issue a ruling in a case pertaining to the legality of same-sex marriage in the state when oral arguments begin on Wednesday. 

The state’s highest court is set to hear two hours worth of oral arguments in the case pertaining to New Mexico’s gay marriage law, which does not explicitly ban or allow for same-sex marriage, according to The Associated Press. The five-judge panel, however, will not immediately issue a ruling in the case, the court clerk told lawyers. 

The legality of same-sex marriage reached a tipping point earlier in the year when a number of county clerks began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing the state law’s ambiuous language. A number of other clerks asked the high court to examine the law so that there is a clear statewide ruling on whether gay marriage is legal.

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