Anti-gay State Sen. William Sharer of New Mexico is leading a pack of Republican state legislators to file a lawsuit against Dona Ana County to stop gay marriage.
Just last week, County Clerk Lynn Ellins (D) started offering marriage licenses to gay couples, according to ThinkProgress.
"I see no reason to make committed couples in Doña Ana County wait another minute to marry," Ellins said.
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King conducted a poll that concluded that while some state statues stipulate that marriage is between one man and one woman, the equal protections under the state's constitution render these rules unconstitutional.
King said he would not fight against any lawsuit demanding gay marriage equality.
Ellins cited King's poll as he announced last week that he would stand by the United States constitution, the New Mexico constitution, and the New Mexico Human Rights Act and allow gay couples to marry. Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar (D) began offering marriage licenses to gay couples days after Ellins' announcement.
Sharer, who is has a long history of pushing anti-gay legislation, released a statement titled "Does the State License Love?" on his campaign website.
"The Dona Ana County Clerk's actions should offend the senses of everyone. In a nation of laws governed by a constitution, the legislators are the duly elected lawmakers. But even the legislators must have the consent of the executive. A county clerk simply should not be allowed to create law out of thin air. There is a way to change the law - little dictators should not be allowed to act as the sole lawgiver in a free society. My opposition to the County Clerk is based on the simple fact that he is not the dictator. He cannot change the law of New Mexico. Read past the first sentence and you will see that the law, as actually written, uses the terms male and female, bride and groom, and husband and wife."
