Santa Fe New Mexican
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Setback for gays: Committee unanimously approves bill banning same-sex
marriage, tables anti-discrimination bill
By KEITH EASTHOUSE
  The cause of equal rights for gays and lesbians was set back at the State
Legislature on Tuesday.
  By a vote of 7-0, the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee approved
a bill that would make it illegal for members of the same sex to marry in New
Mexico.
The controversial bill, which has pitted gay-rights activists against members
of the religious right, now goes before the House Judiciary Committee.
  Working late into the night, the same committee then tabled, or set aside,
a bill that would make it illegal to discriminate against anyone in the
workplace on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Gay activists expressed anger and dismay at the decisions made by the
committee.
  "The committee has shown incredible cowardice. They've failed to be moral
leaders in our society," said the Rev. Rusty Smith, a gay clergyman from
Albuquerque.
  The committee did not discuss either bill before voting. It did, however,
listen to almost four hours worth of testimony from supporters and opponents
of both bills. The hearing, held in the House chambers, took place before an
audience of about 100 people.
  Supporters of the bill, which defines heterosexual marriage as the only
legally valid union, argued that if same-sex marriage is allowed in New
Mexico, then any sort of marriage would have to be accepted.
  "If you accept same-sex marriages today, then you can't stop marriages of
incest, polygamy or even human-animal relations," said the bill's sponsor,
Rep. Jerry Lee Alwin, R-Albuquerque.
  Alwin said he was "ashamed our society has degenerated so far that we have
to define marriage.
"Next we'll have to define motherhood and apple pie," Alwin said.
  Alwin's bill would impose a $50 fine on anyone who performs a gay marriage
and would not allow the state to recognize gay couples married in other
states. If approved by the full House,
the bill would still need to work its way through the Senate.
  Bonnie Miller of the New Mexico Chapter of Concerned Women of America, a
Christian group, said that same-sex marriages - and gay rights in general -
"are wedges designed to overturn traditional sexual morality."
  Rep. Gary King, D-Moriarty, the chairman of the committee, said during a
break in the hearing that he voted for the same-sex marriage bill because it
is broadly supported by his constituents.
"We are a representative democracy and the majority of people who live in my
district are for this bill," King said.
  When asked what his own views were, King said, "My personal opinions will
have to stay my personal opinions."
  King was one of three committee members who voted against tabling the
anti-discrimination bill.
  Rep. Patsy Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, the sponsor of that bill, said that she is
still hopeful she can persuade the panel to move the bill forward without a
recommendation.
  But given the fact that less than two weeks remain in the legislative
session, it appears highly unlikely that Trujillo's bill will make it out of
the House, let alone be approved by the Senate.
  One objection raised against Trujillo's bill is that because a person's
sexual orientation is not a visible trait like race it would lead to false
claims of discrimination.
  Trujillo said that her bill "is not about rape, pedophiles, AIDS, religion
or God. This bill is about discrimination. No one should be discriminated
against."
Trujillo's bill, which also provides discrimination protection to gays
seeking housing and financial loans, is similar to a controversial 1993 bill
that narrowly went down to defeat.
  For whatever reason, the issue did not generate nearly as much attention
during the current session.