Tag Archives: State: New Mexico

LifeSiteNews: Project Defending Life has released a video that features an undercover phone call placed to Planned Parenthood of New Mexico in Albuquerque by a woman seeking an abortion who indicated she was 14 and her boyfriend was 21. The caller was told by a Planned Parenthood employee that they probably would not need to report even though the relationship qualifies as statutory rape.

Santa Fe New Mexican: In a news release Thursday, Attorney General Gary King said, “Based on extensive research, we cannot state definitively that New Mexico law currently permits same-sex marriage. “Although state statutes may limit marriage to couples of the opposite sex, this does not mean they will pass constitutional muster,” King said. “New Mexico statutes that preclude same-sex couples from marrying are vulnerable to challenge under the equal protection guarantees of the federal and state constitutions.” | AG Analysis and press release

Bloomberg: The case, pending before the New Mexico Supreme Court, is about discrimination and has nothing to do with gay marriage, Gill said. Opponents of same-sex marriage, though, see the case as a warning about how legalized gay marriage could impact religious freedom, citing it in at least three amicus briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court cases, said Jim Campbell, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale, Arizona- based Christian legal group representing the photographer in the New Mexico case and Proposition 8 proponents in the Supreme Court case . . . “People are paying attention to it because it illustrates some of the religious liberty concerns with same-sex marriage,” Campbell said. “If a case like that can arise in a state that doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, it would be far more likely and far more difficult to defend against in a state that recognizes gay marriage.”

Religion Clause Blog: In Taylor v. Roswell Independent School District, (10th Cir., April 8, 2013), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected 1st and 14th Amendment challenges by student members of a religious group, Relentless, to decisions by Roswell, New Mexico school officials that prevented them from distributing 2500 rubber fetus dolls to other high school students. The schools took the action after disruptions, described by the court . . .

NECN: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is drawing criticism from a liberal advocacy group for vetoing legislation that would have required the state to expedite the occupational and professional licenses of domestic partners of gay military members.

KVIA.com: Four words are creating a major ripple in quiet Alamogordo, N.M. “In God We Trust.” A group representing atheists and agnostics is calling out the city of Alamogordo for a new sign bearing the slogan in city hall.

KOB.com: A group representing atheists and agnostics has objected to the city Alamogordo displaying the words “In God We Trust” at City Hall.

One News Now: In the meantime, Donnelly’s group is working closely with Alliance Defending Freedom to thwart efforts to violate state law or change the law through litigation.

Voices for Family Values is calling upon all county clerks in New Mexico to follow state law instead of the desires of Santa Fe Mayor David Coss with regard to marriage licenses.

Santa Fe New Mexican: Attorney General King is in Mexico this week for talks on drug trafficking, human trafficking and judicial reform. His spokesman, Phil Sisneros, said late Wednesday that the office has received McCamely’s authorized inquiry and will “work as quickly as possible to formulate our response.”

Santa Fe New Mexican: ACLU files suit on behalf of New Mexico same-sex couples ACLU: Two same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry filed a lawsuit today after they applied for and were denied marriage licenses by the Bernalillo County …

Raw Story: In a legal memo, City Attorney Geno Zamara explained that the state’s definite of marriage was gender-neutral and therefore did not prohibit same-sex marriage. He also noted that the constitution of New Mexico prohibits denying equality under the law on the basis of sex.

CNN: The placement of a hand or positioning of the groom contains assumptions about physicality and gender roles that often don’t apply to same-sex couples or even nontraditional straight couples.

One News Now: Jordan Lorence of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represented the photography shop before the high court earlier this week, and he maintains that the Huguenins have the right to run their own business based on their own values. “Americans in the marketplace should not be targets for legal attacks simply because they abide by their own values and beliefs,” Lorence contends. “We trust the New Mexico Supreme Court will agree, because the government should not be allowed to force a photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience. The Constitution clearly prohibits the state from forcing unwilling artists to advance a message with which they disagree.”

LGBTQ Nation: The First Amendment should exempt Elaine Huguenin and her Albuquerque business, Elane Photography, from state laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defending Freedom told the high court.

ABQ Journal: Attorney Jordan Lorence’s theme in his oral argument Monday was that earlier courts’ decisions in favor of the couple who challenged Elane Photography’s refusal to photograph the ceremony amounted to “compelled speech” in violation of their First Amendment rights, or the government putting words in someone’s mouth. “The law cannot compel someone to stand on a soapbox,” he said, “in the same way that a court cannot compel someone to use his photographic skills to say something contrary to his beliefs.” . . . Lorence’s Washington, D.C.-based Alliance Defending Freedom represents the studio and has vowed to go to the U.S. Supreme Court if there is an adverse ruling from New Mexico’s highest court . . . Lorence said after the hearing he sensed “some clear division on the court,” including “some skepticism and some openness to what we were saying.” He emphasized the “unique, artistic skills” that he said photographer Elaine Huguenin brings to her work. “This was not just recording like a security video camera, and the other side downplays that considerably,” he said.

Washington Post: Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defending Freedom told the New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday that it should overturn a discrimination judgment against Elaine Huguenin and Elaine Photography.

Jeri Clausing at AP: Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defending Freedom told the New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday that it should overturn a discrimination judgment against Elaine Huguenin and Elane Photography.

KFOXTV.com (AP): A conservative group called Alliance Defending Freedom is helping Elaine Huguenin of Elane Photography, arguing artistic freedom enables her to choose what to photograph.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence will be available for media interviews immediately following his oral argument at the New Mexico Supreme Court Monday in defense of an Albuquerque photographer’s freedom of conscience and artistic expression.

LifeSiteNews: An ambulance arrived at Southwestern Women’s Options, a late-term abortion clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and transported an abortion patient to UNM Medical Center at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Friday.

Huffington Post: New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley plan to file a friend-of-the-court brief on Friday, their offices said. Officials in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, will join the amicus brief.

Santa Fe New Mexican: A House committee on Thursday effectively killed a proposed constitutional amendment to make same-sex marriage a constitutional right in New Mexico. The House Voters & Elections Committee voted 7-4 to table House Joint Resolution 3, sponsored by Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe.

LifeNews The New Mexico Medical Board is seeking to change Board Regulations on Complaint Procedures in the wake of the high-profile case against late-term abortionist Shelley Sella, who was cleared last week on charges of gross negligence related to a botched 35-week abortion that resulted in a ruptured uterus.:

PewStates.org: The controversy started when Sandoval County Clerk Victoria Dunlap announced she’d begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples, arguing, correctly, that nothing in state law defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. “She just sprung it up,” Norma Vazquez de Houdek, Mary’s spouse, says. “I thought it was a big hoax.”

AP: The New Mexico Medical Board has exonerated an Albuquerque doctor who was accused of gross negligence in the abortion of a nearly 9-month-old fetus.

AP: A woman from New York came to New Mexico to terminate her pregnancy at one of the nation’s four late-term abortion clinics after she found out the fetus she had been carrying for more than eight months had severe brain abnormalities. There were complications during the abortion and the 26-year-old woman was rushed to the hospital with a ruptured uteru

NewsMax: New Mexico lawmakers are reviewing two pieces of legislation that would have opposite affects on same-sex marriage in the state, according to KOB4 TV in Albuquerque.

Fox News: New Mexico state legislator is under fire for a proposal critics say could lead to felony charges against rape victims seeking an abortion, but the legislator maintains the measure is being misrepresented.

KRQE.com: Democratic representative Brian Egolf of Santa Fe is proposing a constitutional amendment to officially recognize same sex marriages.

LifeSiteNews: Shelley Sella, a late term abortionist who is a former associate of the notorious Kansas abortionist George Tiller, has been accused by the New Mexico Medical Board of violating the standard of patient care and gross negligence for conducting an abortion of a 35 week pre-born baby outside a hospital on a woman whose medical history included a previous Caesearian delivery.

LifeNews: The state medical board in New Mexico is putting together a hearing to potentially discipline abortion practitioner Shelley Sella, who botched an abortion at 35 weeks of pregnancy that landed the woman in the hospital with a ruptured uterus.

AP: But days after Austin-Knight’s children were put in foster care, she met foster mother Krista King at a park as part of an effort in Florida to encourage more foster parents to communicate with birth parents, let them talk to their children and honor their child-rearing wishes. Similar programs are in California, Virginia and New Mexico. Several other states – including Oregon, New Hampshire and Washington – provide legal representation or mentorship for birth parents.

KOB.com (includes video): The New Mexico American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing the Mayor of Rio Rancho for holding a speech at a local church.

ABQ Journal: The controversial exclusion of coach-led prayer in Portales city league sports has sparked questions about prayer at other public and government-funded venues. According to league sports Director Mike Doerr, coach-led prayer was eliminated to avoid possible legal issues as well as respecting the diversity represented in the league.

Religion Clause Blog: AP reported yesterday that the National Park Service has decided to remove a stupa (Buddhist reliquary) that has been on the grounds of Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico since 1990.

George F. Will at the Washington Post: Elaine Huguenin, who with her husband operates Elane Photography in New Mexico, asks only to be let alone. But instead of being allowed a reasonable zone of sovereignty in which to live her life in accordance with her beliefs, she is being bullied by people wielding government power . . . The Huguenin case demonstrates how advocates of tolerance become tyrannical . . . So, in the name of tolerance, government declares intolerable individuals such as the Huguenins, who disapprove of a certain behavior but ask only to be let alone in their quiet disapproval. Perhaps advocates of gay rights should begin to restrain the bullies in their ranks.

Alan E. Sears at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: August was a wonderful month for your liberty at Alliance Defending Freedom, in which God has reminded us time and again, across a spectrum of important cases, how much He is blessing your good prayers and generous support for the work of defending religious freedom across our nation. Some highlights . . .

Thomas Messner at the Heritage Foundation: The New Mexico Supreme Court recently announced that it will consider the case of a Christian photographer who objected for religious reasons to photographing a same-sex commitment ceremony . . . This is not “live and let live.” This is the state—and sometimes private citizens and the culture at large—punishing people who refuse to recant their beliefs regarding marriage, family, and sexuality.

ABQ Journal: Attorneys for the company, Alliance Defending Freedom, appealed that ruling, and senior counsel Jordan Lorence told CBN: “We trust the New Mexico Supreme Court will agree because the government should not be allowed to force the photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience.”

One News Now: In June, the New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld the Commission’s ruling under state anti-discrimination laws. Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Jordan Lorence has the latest development. “The New Mexico Supreme Court has granted review in the case of Elane Photography [and] the Albuquerque Christian photographer who was sued for discrimination under New Mexico state law,” he tells OneNewsNow. [more]

CBN: “Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said. “We trust the New Mexico Supreme Court will agree because the government should not be allowed to force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience,” he added. “The Constitution clearly prohibits the state from forcing unwilling artists to advance a message with which they disagree,” he said

Human rights commission required artist to pay nearly $7,000 for declining to photograph same-sex ceremony

KRQE.com: The judicial nominating commission unanimously recommended former Justice Paul Kennedy, a Republican who is a prominent criminal defense lawyer, and career prosecutor Steven Suttle, a Democrat who worked for 14 years in the attorney general’s office before retiring in 2010.

Nathan A. Cherry at the Engage Family Blog: Already we are seeing where churches and Christians are being penalized, persecuted, whatever you want to call it, because of their religious convictions on issues like marriage. The Alliance Defending Freedom is currently representing Elane Photography after the Christian owned and operated company was convicted of “sexual orientation” discrimination for refusing to provide services for a lesbian civil union. A recent ADF article on the topic wonders what implications for churches exist if this case, and others similar to it, is ultimately lost. The article say . . .

Jordan Lorence appeared on Righting the Right with Glenn Pav. Jordan discusses the Elane Photography ruling and the Florida Personhood Amendment. | MP3 audio 5:32 mins

Jordan Lorence at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys have appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court a May 31 decision by a lower court finding a photography company guilty of discrimination for declining to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony. Furthermore, the court ordered the company to pay almost $6700 in attorneys’ fees to the lesbian who filed the complaint. The ominous implications of this case could affect churches and other religious groups who believe marriage is defined as one man and one woman.

Anthony Vigil at the ABQ Journal: The Albuquerque Journal titled the recent op-ed column by the director of the ACLU of New Mexico “Religious Beliefs are a Matter of Conscience, Not Business.” We know that, in reality, throughout all of history, business matters are a matter of conscience. No one conducts business without deciding by an act of the will whether the business to be conducted is appropriate, legal and, most important, good for the one agreeing to transact. To complete a “good” contract one should use reason, free will (not be coerced) and a good conscience.

When I preached on the implications of the legalizing of so-called same sex marriage I said, “Pretending that [marriage] can exist between people of the same sex will send ripple effects of dysfunction and destruction in every direction, most of which are now unforeseen.” Here is an example you may not have foreseen . . .

Peter Simonson, Exec. Director of NM ACLU at ABQ Journal: In a recent op-ed column published in the Journal, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, which represented Elane Photography, attributed the ruling to the growing nationwide movement to include same-sex couples in the freedom to marry and asserted that allowing same-sex couples to marry infringes on religious liberty. We write to correct inaccuracies in the Alliance Defense Fund’s editorial and to offer a different viewpoint. Despite the Alliance Defense Fund’s assertion, the Elane Photography decision is not about the freedom to marry. In fact, New Mexico has no specific legal recognition or prohibition of same-sex relationships. Rather, the commission and the court based their ruling on a long-standing provision in New Mexico law that prohibits businesses that open their doors to the public from discriminating on the basis of race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation and other categories. And that’s what the Elane Photography case is about: discrimination, plain and simple.

KRQE.com: Matt Bowman with the Alliance Defense Fund said women have their rights, but pharmacists also have the right to religious freedom. “One person’s right to do something doesn’t mean they can force other people to help when it violates the other people’s faith,” said Bowman. “Protecting the right of a health care professional’s conscience is part of the right of religious freedom because representing the right of conscience isn’t stopping anyone from getting drugs. They can go elsewhere.”

Jordan Lorence at the Heritage Foundation Foundry Blog: The New Mexico Court of Appeals rejected the free speech and religious liberty defenses raised by lawyers from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which is defending Elane and its owners, Jon and Elaine Huguenin. On June 27, ADF appealed this case to the New Mexico Supreme Court and, if necessary, will appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

One News Now: ADF attorney Jordan Lorence . . . “Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy? Of course not! And neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience,” he contends. “The Constitution prohibits the state from forcing unwilling artists to promote a message they disagree with.” ADF will appeal the decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

KOAT.com: Right now, legal action is not being taken against the pharmacist or Walgreens. But there is an online petition on the ACLU’s website to ask Walgreens to prevent employees’ religious beliefs from what they say is getting in the way of women’s health care.

Alibi.com: The ACLU and the Southwest Women’s Law Center sent Walgreens a letter requesting that if a pharmacist on staff can’t fill prescriptions due to religious beliefs, another pharmacist should be on duty who can.

“Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs.”

MO Family Policy Council: “Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” says ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence. “The Constitution prohibits the state from forcing a photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience.”

Timothy P. Carney at The Examiner: “We will not comply! We will not comply!” they yelled. Some wore “Don’t Tread on Me” shirts. One leader of this Rally for Religious Freedom on Friday lamented over the speakers, “In America, unfortunately, there’s a rule against everything.”
The cultural Left is turning the Catholic faithful into anti-authoritarians . . . The media need to figure out who is imposing morality on whom. Libertarians need to reassess their allegiances on social matters. And cultural conservatives need to understand that government is inherently their enemy.

Ian Tuttle at National Review: There is a “growing notion,” says Alliance Defense Fund attorney Jordan Lorence, that “if you believe marriage is only between a man and woman, you cannot operate your business like that.” . . . I detail this latest assault on conscience rights in my piece today . . . “I felt like Atticus Finch,” Jordan Lorence, the Huguenins’ attorney, told NRO. “There is so clearly an injustice here.” Lorence is a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization of Christian lawyers specializing in religious-freedom cases.

Jordan Lorence appeared on the radio with Donald Thornton to discuss the issue and the Elane photography case. | MP3 audio 24:39 mins

Jim Campbell on the Don Kroah Show to discuss the Elane Photography ruling. | MP3 audio 11:22 mins

Christian Post: The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which defended the Christian couple and their company, Elane Photography LLC, has vowed to take the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court. “Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” said Attorney and ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence in a June 4 press release. [more]

Deroy Murdock at National Review: New Mexico appeals court ruled recently that one’s Christian faith is an insufficient reason to decline business that violates one’s religious views.

AP on Google: States that could see renewed efforts to pass anti-union measures in the wake of Wisconsin’s recall election . . .

World Magazine: DF attorney Jordan Lorence said the rulings show a “stunning disregard” of Elain and Jon Huguenin’s First Amendment rights. “Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy?” Lorence asked. “Of course not, and neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience.” Lorence and the Huguenins plan to appeal the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

CBN (includes video): “Christians in the marketplace should not be penalized for abiding by their beliefs anymore than anyone else should,” Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence said in a statement after the original ruling by the commission. “The government cannot make people choose between their faith and their livelihood,” he said. “Could the government force a vegetarian videographer to create a commercial for the new butcher shop in town? American business owners do not surrender their constitutional rights at the marketplace gate.” The Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the studio, plans to appeal the latest court ruling.

ABA Journal: Lawyers with the Alliance Defense Fund say they will appeal a decision holding that a Christian photographer’s studio violated New Mexico anti-bias laws by refusing to photograph a lesbian commitment ceremony.

ABQ Journal: Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund say they intend to ask the state Supreme Court to review a New Mexico Court of Appeals decision finding that an Albuquerque photography studio violated the state Human Rights Act by refusing to take photos of a lesbian couple’s commitment ceremony….

CBS 5 (AP): The Alliance Defense Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based legal alliance of Christian attorneys and others that represented the studio, plans to appeal. Elane Photography argued that it provided discretionary, unique and expressive services that aren’t a public accommodation under the Human Rights Act.

NY Daily News (AP): The Alliance Defense Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based legal alliance of Christian attorneys and others, says it plans to appeal.

Chris Lisee at Washington Post (RNS): Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” said Jordan Lorence, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the photographer | Also posted at the Huffington Post

FRC Washington Update: To ADF attorney Jordan Lorence, the rulings have both shown a stunning disregard of the Huguenins’ First Amendment rights. They intend to appeal the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court–and beyond, if necessary. “Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy?” Jordan asked? “Of course not, and neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience.” Obviously, the courts are viewing the case of Elane Photography through the lens of political correctness–not the Constitution, which, as Jordan points out, ” protects people’s expression of their views, even when it comes in a commercial context. Business owners do not surrender their constitutionally protected rights at the marketplace gate.”

KFVS12.com (AP): The Alliance Defense Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based legal alliance of Christian attorneys and others, says it plans to appeal.

One News Now: ADF attorney Jordan Lorence: “Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs. Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy? Of course not — and neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience.”

MySanAntonio.com: The Alliance Defense Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based legal alliance of Christian attorneys and others, says it plans to appeal the ruling. The photography studio says its refusal was not an act of discrimination, but a reflection of the owners’ religious and moral beliefs.