James Monteleone of the Albuquerque Journal is reporting in a front page story this morning on same-sex marriage that New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez is taking Attorney General Gary King to task saying, “The Attorney General is the lawyer that represents the state and can go forward (with litigation), but he has chosen not to do anything.” The Governor said that King has fallen short of his obligation to defend the state’s interpretation of the marriage laws. Gov. Martinez added, “We are getting this patchwork of some counties saying yes ( to same-sex marriage) and some counties saying no and that is not a state law. We really shouldn’t have County Clerks making these very big decisions.”
Here is what is on my mind:
Governor Martinez has said in the past she is against same-sex marriage and that the issue should be put to the voters of the state.
It is interesting to note that Gov. Martinez and Atty. General King are running against each other in the next election for Governor. Is King’s decision not to do anything, a decision based on getting potential votes for Governor?
Why is the governor not calling on all county clerks to cease and desist issue licenses until the state has a state-wide judgement from the NM Supreme Court? Governor Martinez has the authority take action, not just blame the AG.
To be clear, the AG is acting unlawfully and in violation of his oath of office by not defending state law. He probably is taking a page from the Obama playbook. If you don’t like a law, ignore it.
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