The New Mexico state Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6 to 5 yesterday to move a domestic partnership bill to a floor vote in the state Senate. The bill would allow same-sex couples access to domestic partnerships with the legal rights and benefits of marriage under state law.
According to the Associated Press, the bill was stalled in committee earlier this month and failed in the state Senate Judiciary Committee last year after a similar measure passed the New Mexico state House in that legislative session. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson told the Associated Press that “I feel strongly that it’s a matter of human rights and civil rights we should strongly support [this legislation] and I’ll work very hard to get it done.”
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said “The Human Rights Campaign is pleased that the New Mexico Senate has taken this important step toward enacting much-needed protections for all couples in New Mexico, and we’re hopeful that this legislation will ultimately pass the Senate and House, and be enacted into law.”
