New Mexico's highest court is stepping into the fray over gay marriage, with the state attorney general and gay rights advocates urging the justices to order county clerks statewide to allow the unions.
The Supreme Court took a case under consideration on Wednesday that could determine whether gay marriage is legal statewide. The court heard two hours of arguments from lawyers and will issue a decision later.
A lawyer for nearly a dozen current and former legislators told the justices the question of same-sex marriage should be decided by the Legislature not a court.
At issue is an Albuquerque district judge's ruling in late August that denying marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples is unconstitutional.
Eight of the state's 33 county clerks are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples
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