DAILY LOBO new mexico
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August 27, 2013
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
by Jyllian Roach
news@dailylobo.com @Jyllian_R Many same-sex couples in Albuquerque will line up at the County Clerk’s office to get a marriage license today at 8 a.m. Bernalillo County Second Judicial District Court ruled in favor of samesex marriage Monday afternoon. The decision, issued by county court judge Alan Malott, makes Bernalillo the third county in the state to allow same-sex marriage. “Gay and lesbian citizens of New Mexico have endured a long history of discrimination,” Malott said in his written decision. “Denial of the right to marry continues this unfortunate, intolerable pattern and establishes irreparable injury.” As the ruling was read, couples in the courtroom silently hugged as tears slid down their faces. For many, this was a profound moment that came after years of waiting. For Gail Gerhing, a 73-year-old Placitas resident who has been in a committed relationship for the past 18 years, the change in public sentiment and law is wonderful. Gerhing said she and her partner married in California in 2008, but the marriage was annulled after California’s Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision to allow same-sex marriage in the state. “There’s no feeling like the feeling
that you are the same as everybody else,” she said. UNM psychology major Chanda Shaw and her fiancée Jessica Dunn said they are ecstatic over the decision. Shaw, who will graduate in December, said they have been together for almost seven years. Dunn is pregnant with the couple’s first child, she said. “We had a commitment ceremony in 2011 and we’ve definitely been waiting for this day so we could be legally married,” Shaw said.
“Love is love and you can’t stop it.” ~Bridgette Noriega UNM alumna Dunn said other counties in the state will follow the lead of Doña Ana, Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties. “Everything that’s happened in the last week — if that accounts for anything — it’s moving strong,” she said. Doña Ana County became the first county in New Mexico to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses last week when clerk Lynn Ellins made the decision without being so ordered by a court. Santa Fe County followed shortly after, when a judge ordered the clerk to begin issuing
licenses Thursday. This preceded a 7-4 vote of Santa Fe’s Voters and Elections Committee not to put the gay marriage question on the ballot for the city’s 2013 general elections. Stacy Ruiz and Bridgette Noriega, both UNM alumnae, said they have been waiting patiently for marriage equality to come to New Mexico. “We’re thrilled,” Ruiz said. “We’ve been engaged for two years, but we’ve been waiting for it to pass here. We didn’t want to have to leave the state to get married.” Noriega said she is excited that Bernalillo County has adopted marriage equality, but wishes that all of New Mexico would embrace samesex marriage. “It’s sad that it has to be county by county. I wish it was the whole state,” Noriega said. The couple has scheduled a wedding ceremony for July next year, but Ruiz said they want to file a marriage license right away because they are afraid the ruling will not last. “We thought we better come now before they revoke it,” she said. County clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver said she has no plans to file an appeal over the ruling. She said her office printed 1,000 new genderneutral marriage licenses in preparation for the ruling and will be able to print more Tuesday if needed. “This has been a long time coming. I’ve been waiting for clear judicial direction for a long time, and I’m
Sergio Jiménez / Daily Lobo UNM psychology major Chanda Shaw, right, and her fiancée Jessica Dunn celebrate the Bernalillo County Second Judicial District Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage at the County Clerk’s office Monday afternoon. happy to finally have it,” Toulouse counties and urge them to embrace Oliver said. “I was in a situation for a marriage equality as well. long time where I was unable to act “I would like to say that they on my personal beliefs, and it was would follow suit pretty quickly, but I very frustrating.” don’t know if we’ll be that lucky,” she UNM psychology major Brittany said. “I do know that we will have to Arneson said she has been volun- do a lot of outreach to people in the teering with GetEQUAL New Mexico other counties to start working on on equality for the LGBT communi- equality.” ty, and is happy for a win in a county Noriega said she is hopeful that with such a large city. New Mexico as a whole will soon ap“I feel blessed right now,” she said. prove same-sex marriage. She said “I know we have a long road ahead of she believes that people’s attitudes us, but this is a battle that we worked about same-sex marriage are bereally hard for.” coming positive quickly. Arneson said GetEQUAL will be“Love is love and you can’t stop gin contacting other New Mexico it,” she said. “The world is changing.”
2013 MAYORAL RACE
2013 MAYORAL RACE
Candidates share plans, jabs at forum Students ‘meh’ about election by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
Economic development took center stage at a mayoral candidate forum Monday afternoon. Incumbent Richard Berry, Republican challenger Paul Heh and Democratic challenger Pete Dinelli
discussed how they would improve Albuquerque’s economy if elected at a forum organized by the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association at the Albuquerque Marriott. Candidates presented different views about business partnerships among public sectors and private companies.
Berry said “public-private partnerships” are beneficial for the city. He said these partnerships make it easier for officials to balance Albuquerque’s scarce resources. “The private sector simply does not have the resources,” he said. “So if we team up smart public sector business with private sector business and find a great partnership to
Sergio Jiménez / Daily Lobo Democratic challenger Pete Dinelli rises to greet the audience members in attendance at the mayoral forum at the Albuquerque Marriott on Monday. The forum was organized by the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association.
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work, it makes a lot of sense.” Public-partner partnerships would especially benefit the city’s recycling industries, Berry said. He said at the moment, only 5 percent of Albuquerque’s solid waste is recycled by the city, and through publicprivate partnerships, the number could increase to 25 percent. Dinelli echoed Berry’s view. Dinelli said ENERGIZE ABQ, the economic development plan for the city that he released in late July, will focus on attracting major businesses into the state for more public-private partnerships. “These partnerships are pretty much a part of my economic development plan of energizing Albuquerque,” he said. “I believe that the city of Albuquerque needs to target major industries in manufacturing and shipping and attract new jobs in the area.” Through ENERGIZE ABQ, Dinelli said he would allot $1.5 billion for infrastructure projects, such as bridges and roads, as well as a business hub centered around the Albuquerque International Sunport. He said his plan would also focus on bringing in health care companies into Albuquerque, and would create 15,000 to 20,000 “real jobs, not minimum wage jobs.” On the other hand, Heh emphasized the importance of education in the city.
see Economy PAGE 3
by Chloe Henson
news@dailylobo.com @ChloeHenson5
While the mayoral campaign season continues, many UNM students have not yet caught on to the hype. On Monday, mayoral candidates Richard Berry, Paul Heh and Pete Dinelli went head–tohead in a forum to discuss their stances on multiple subjects, including economic development policies in Albuquerque. The candidates answered questions such as whether they support public-private relationships, whether they support continuing to allocate bonds and whether to consider performance-based regulations instead of mandated ones. Dinelli, the sole Democratic candidate, repeatedly said in his opening statement that he was running because of his “deep
see Mayor PAGE 3
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