I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
An obscure branch of the federal government responsible for distributing millions of tax dollars to religious organizations is drawing criticism for poor oversight of how the money is spent. Good-government advocates warn that without rigorous transparency, the likelihood for corruption, ethics violations and unconstitutional spending of tax dollars is high.
A federal judge has ruled that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry in California, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.
U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker struck down Proposition 8 today in a ruling that…
Democrat Lt. Gov. Diane Denish supports domestic partnerships. Republican Susana Martinez doesn’t. The distinction is important to those who follow the annual debate over whether to give same-sex couples many, if not all the same rights, as married couples under state law. Both supporters and opponents of the issue are watching the gubernatorial race: supporters hoping for a governor who will sign domestic partnerships legislation; opponents hoping for a governor who will be the last defense against legislation they dislike.
As closing arguments ended Wednesday in the trial on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved ban of same-sex marriage, the judge in the case wanted to know why defenders of the initiative put up only one witness during the…
Republicans and conservative Democrats on Tuesday used a Senate Committee viewed as a friendly forum to seriously endanger domestic partnership legislation. Before sending the legislation on to Senate Judiciary Committee a 5-4 vote, the Senate Public Affairs Committee approved sending the 816-page bill to a third committee, the kiss of death during a 30-day session.
As nearly 100 people gathered to support domestic partnerships in New Mexico, Sen. Willliam Sharer, R-Farmington said if the state passed a domestic partnership bill it would almost certainly lead to a lawsuit to bring same-sex marriage to the state. Sharer…
Even before the legislative session, passing domestic partnerships was an uphill climb. Now, with the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops adding its voice to the opposition, suddenly advocates have found themselves scaling Mt. Everest without an oxygen tank, in 100 mph winds. Even supportive lawmakers say it’s DOA unless the miraculous occurs.
After 90 minutes of impassioned debate that invoked the sweep of American history, the New Jersey state Senate yesterday voted down a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. Gay-rights advocates immediately said they would bring their…
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will announce today that he is withdrawing from the 2010 race for governor, according to the Denver Post. The governor’s decision has caught many by surprise in Denver and sent Democrats in the state scrambling…
About six million Americans are living on nothing but food stamps, according to an analysis by the New York Times. The paper profiles several recipients in Florida who are representative of the growing trend as the country’s economic travails continue.
As New Mexico’s state lawmakers approach next month’s regular legislative session with pleas to raise taxes ringing in their heads, they need to know they’re not alone. Twenty-nine states raised taxes or fees this year, bringing in an estimated…
Weeks before the New Mexico state Legislature is expected to take up the issue of domestic partnership, the New York state Senate voted down a same-sex marriage bill Wednesday, shocking proponents who had predicted its passage, the New York Times…
It’s likely the New Mexico Legislature will take up domestic partnerships again during January’s regular legislative session after rejecting several previous measures. Not that other states are a predictor of what may happen here, but Tuesday’s elections produced mixed…
A meeting called to “discuss, promote, and strengthen the movement for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equality in New Mexico” is being billed as “historic” by its organizers.
Gov. John Baldacci said minutes ago that he will sign same-sex marriage legislation into law, making Maine the fifth state to legalize unions between same-sex couples.
The Maine House of Representatives has passed a same-sex marriage bill, a week after the state Senate preliminarily passed it last week. According to the Portland Press Herald, the vote earlier today was 89-57.
With the recent additions of Iowa and Vermont (not to mention Washington D.C.) to the ranks of states that allow same-sex marriage, some New Mexico Democrats hope the Land of Enchantment joins that short list soon.
Vermont minutes ago became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage.
That happened when that state’s House of Representatives overrode Gov. Jim Douglas‘ veto of same-sex marriage legislation by a vote of 100-49.
The Vermont state Senate has just voted 23-5 to override Gov. Jim Douglas‘ veto of same-sex legislation. The House of Representatives now will vote whether to override Douglas’ veto, possibly later this morning.
Gov. Jim Douglas of Vermont just vetoed a law that would have created same -sex marriage in that New England state. Douglas’ action comes three days after the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing same-sex marriage in…
