In an interview with KNME’s Gwyneth Doland, State Auditor Hector Balderas, who is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, said he “absolutely” supported gay marriage.

“Absolutely. But more importantly than that, I’ve been advocating for civil rights for almost all my life,” said Balderas. “I’m an attorney, I was a prosecutor that fought hard for victims’ rights. So, any type of discrimination in this country really needs to be addressed swiftly.”

His opponent, Rep. Martin Heinrich, co-sponsored a bill in 2009 repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which disallows the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage.

In 2008, while running for the U.S. House, Heinrich said, “I am not supportive of gay marriage but I do believe that everybody in the United States has the same civil rights in front of the government.” He added, “So I think it’s important that civil rights that are available to heterosexual couples should be available to every single gay couple who also wants to make the same sorts of commitments.”

That is essentially President Obama’s position.

Former Rep. Heather Wilson, running for the Republican nomination, voted for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. In 2006 she said marriage “is an institution we should protect and nurture. It is a union between one man and one woman, and it’s something we should honor in law and in our communities.”

In a Public Policy Polling survey released in early July, 42 percent of New Mexico voters indicated they thought gay marriage should be legal, while 49 percent said it should be illegal. However, when asked about civil unions and gay marriage, 37 percent said gay marriage should be legal, 31 percent said civil unions should be legal, and 30 percent favored no legal recognition for same-sex couples.

There is no legal recognition for same-sex couples in New Mexico.

Actor and Albuquerque native Neil Patrick Harris is one of several celebrities who this week recorded a video message encouraging gay youth to “be proud” and not let anti-gay bullies push them to suicide.

The video was inspired by the “It Gets Better Project,” which asks gay adults to upload YouTube videos reassuring teens that after the misery of middle school and high school, life does get better.

A spate of five suicides by gay teens over the past three weeks has spurred a movement to reach out to troubled gay kids.

“For the love of Pete, there’s no need to harm yourself,” Harris tells the camera.

“You can act with strength, you can act with courage, you can act with class and stand tall. Be proud of who you are. This is a good time that we live in and we’re being granted more and more rights and that’s awesome,” Harris says.

The It Gets Better Project is also on Facebook.

For instance, the rules would also benefit widows or widowers who rely on friends, or members of religious orders who aren’t able to be there for one another when admitted to the hospital, Obama said in the memo. The memo singled out as “uniquely affected” gay and lesbian Americans as beneficiaries of the new policy:

Often, a widow or widower with no children is denied the support and comfort of a good friend. Members of religious orders are sometimes unable to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions on their behalf. Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives — unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated.

Some Gay and Lesbian rights advocates hailed the decision, with a representative of the Human Rights Campaign telling The New York Times that the new rule making is a “huge deal”:

“It’s a huge deal,” said David Smith, vice president of policy for the Human Rights Campaign, which worked with the White House to develop the memorandum, in an interview Thursday night. “Nearly every hospital in the country will now be required to provide hospital visitation rights to LGBT families. It’s an enormous step. In the absence of equal marriage rights in most jurisdictions, this step provides an essential right to LGBT families for a gay person or a lesbian person to spend time with their partner in a critical situation.”

Others called it a small but welcome step. Representatives of Freedom to Marry, a group that works for legalization of same-sex marriage, welcomed the news in a statement but said that a piecemeal approach to gay and lesbian rights would take up more time than American families can afford.

“The Administration’s step today, though small, will mean a lot to many people in harm’s way,” said Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry. “… Of course, the real cure is to end exclusion from marriage, pass the federal Respective for Marriage Act, and provide all families the full measure of protections.  Piecemeal steps, addressing one protection at a time, will take up a lot more time than either the Administration or American families can afford.”

In 2008, the state Human Rights Commission ruled in favor of Vanessa Willock, saying Elane Photography discriminated against her based on sexual orientation. The company was ordered $6,637.93 in attorneys’ fees, but owner Elaine Huguenin appealed. Huguenin, an evangelical Christian, said the ceremony would have conflicted with her faith.

As the Journal reports, District Judge Alan Malott was unsympathetic to Huguenin and her husband:

“Neither (the studio) nor its owner-operators have been prohibited from practicing their religion or adhering to their beliefs. At most, they have been directed to respect … Willock’s belief system and religious observation,” Malott wrote. “They are not being asked to participate in the observation or to adopt — or even defend — (Willock’s) beliefs. They are merely being asked to photograph it, for an agreed fee in the ordinary course of their business.”

The case received national attention from outraged supporters of gay rights, as well as outraged conservatives. National Public Radio included the story in a series called “Gay Rights, Religious Liberties.” The Christian Science Monitor wrote about it in a story about how gay marriage affects church groups. And World Net Daily published a fiery piece about  ”the intolerance of the homosexual agenda.

When asking whether “gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults” should be legal, 56 percent of Americans agree with that statement.

And as for the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, a large majority Americans disagree with it — Gallup writes, “Today, the latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds 69% of Americans in favor of military service by openly gay men and lesbians.”

President Barack Obama vowed to change the policy when he got into office, but has since said that changing hte policy must wait.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times shows how rights for gay couples have changed over the past decade.

New Mexico is one of just two states (the other being, somewhat surprisingly, Wyoming) that has no law either for or against the rights for gay couples. While most have changed towards stricter laws against gay rights, some have outright legalized gay marriage in the same time period.

Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Iowa all have legalized gay marriage. However, ten states not only currently have constitutional amendments against gay marriage, but also ban “other legal rights” for gay couples.

The rally and march has its roots in Election Day nearly two weeks ago, when voters in California passed Proposition 8 with 52 percent of the vote. Proposition 8 reversed the legalization of gay marriage in that state by amending the state’s constitution. The California Supreme Court ruled in May of this year that the state’s constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. During the five month period between that ruling and election day when gay marriage was made illegal, about 18,000 same-sex couples were legally married in California.

While Proposition 8 was a California specific initiative, the campaign to pass it saw enormous amounts of money and volunteer hours donated from across the country, including New Mexico. Almost $74 million altogether was spent on the campaign–making it the most expensive proposition on any ballot in the nation.

It’s passage sparked a national day of protest led by gay rights groups on Saturday, November 15.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

The initiative, Proposition 8, would prohibit same-sex marriage by changing the state constitution. It made it onto California’s ballot earlier this year after that state’s Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is constitutional in that state.

Overall, more than 180 New Mexicans have given money to support or oppose the initiative, with folks from the Land of Enchantment opposing the ban by a 2-1 majority if the number of contributions found in the database are any indication. But the pro-initiative contributions, many in the $5,000 range and a few hitting $10,000, have come in recent days to counter the small-dollar contributions from New Mexicans who oppose the initiative. The pro-initiative money comes mostly from Albuquerque, Farmington and Rio Rancho, the database shows.

Overall, more than 120 New Mexicans opposing the initiative have sent money, mostly in small amounts, compared to fewer than 60 who have sent in contributions to support the initiative, according to the database.

The database was constructed for the Associated Press to track the money flowing into the state of California for the high-profile fight.