News
Santa Fe begins issuing marriage licenses to gay couples
Dozens of same-sex couples hold impromptu mass wedding


Dozens of same-sex couples hold an impromptu mass same-sex wedding in Santa Fe (Photo courtesy of ProgressNowNM).
A county clerk in Santa Fe started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday, resulting in dozens of gay couples marrying in a mass wedding.
Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine SalazarĀ started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday afternoon.Ā The first gay couple to receive a marriage license in the county was Liz Stefanics, a Santa Fe county commissioner, and her partnerĀ Linda Siegle, a longtime LGBT activist.
Afterwards, at least a dozen recipients of the countyās first licenses held an impromptu massĀ same-sex weddingĀ in the chambers of the county commission just minutes after receiving their licenses. The couples were pronounced legally married at 3:51 pm.
On Thursday, District Judge Sarah Singleton issued the order for the county to issue the marriage licenses, according to the Associated Press, and was quoted as saying in the decision that āreading a sex or sexual orientation requirement into the laws of New Mexico violates the state constitution.”Ā Singleton reportedly ordered the clerk to grant marriage licenses to gay couples or appear in court Sept. 26 to tell her why that shouldnāt happen.
But in a statement that was read to the Washington Blade by her secretary Jackie Roberson, Singleton clarified the decision was an alternative writ of mandamus and not a decision based on the merits. Apparently,Ā the clerk chose to begin issuing licenses rather than respond to the petition.
“That alternative writ says to do what the petitioner asks or show cause on a specific date why the clerk should not to do that,” Singleton said through the proxy. “An alternative writ is merely a way of giving the respondent a specific time to come in and answer the petition. It does not represent a decision on the merits.”
Singleton’s decision was the result of a lawsuit filed by State Rep. Brian Egolf on behalf by two Santa Fe men. In a statement provided by Progress NOW NM,Ā Salazar explains her decision to begin distributing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
āNow that Judge Singleton has ordered me to issue a license to Messrs. Hanna and Hudson on constitutional grounds, I intend to do so and to issue a license to any same-sex couple who desires one and are otherwise qualified,” Salazar said. “By complying with the judgeās order, we will be issuing licenses legally and will not continue to use limited county resources on further litigation.ā
Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico said in a statement the developments marks a historic development for New Mexico.
āAfter so many years of seeing these couples have their hopes raised, then dashed it is so rewarding to see progress finally coming,ā Davis said. āElected leaders with political courage stepped forward to do the right thing and we will be forever grateful. And no state could have done marriage equality better.Ā What could be cooler than aĀ mass gayĀ weddingĀ in Santa Fe to celebrate marriage equality?”
The clerk began distributing the licenses to gay couples two days after DoƱa Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins began doing the same on his own accord. According to ProgressNOW NM, nearly 100 same-sex couples were married in the county by the start of the next day.
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King said he wouldn’t stop Dona Ana County from issuing marriage licenses for gay couples. He’s previously said he won’t defend New Mexico law against lawsuits seeking marriage equality because he believesĀ that the current statute is unconstitutional. Republican state lawmakers have said they’d intervene to stop the same-sex marriages from occurring.
In the spring, the Santa Fe City Council approved a resolution stating marriage equality was already legal in New Mexico because of the gender-neutral construction of the marriage law after Santa Fe officials, including Mayor David Coss,Ā first proposed the measure in March.
Politics
Anti-LGBTQ conservative Christian activist Pat Robertson is dead at 93
Televangelist was infamous for making outrageous and offensive statements

Anti-LGBTQ Christian-media mogul, televangelist, conservative political activist, and evangelical Southern Baptist minister Pat Robertson died at 93, representatives from his Christian Broadcasting Network confirmed on Thursday.
A public figure who was active in American politics since the 1960s, Robertson became as known for making Christianity central to the Republican Party as he was for his outrageously offensive comments targeting LGBTQ people as well as Haitians, Black People, Muslims, Jewish people, Buddhists, and many others.
- When fellow anti-LGBTQ evangelical televangelist and erstwhile rival Jerry Falwell appeared on his flagship television program The 700 Club on the week of September 11, 2001, Robertson replied āI totally concurā when Falwell laid blame for the terror attacks on āthe ACLUā along with āthe pagans and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays, and the lesbians.ā
- In 2020, Robertson falsely predicted that āwithout question Trump is going to win the election,ā going on to support efforts to keep Trump in office and vowing that āGod himself would interveneā on the former presidentās behalf.
- āThese people are crazed fanatics,ā Robertson said on the 700 Club, talking about Muslims, āand I want to say it now: I believe itās motivated by demonic power. It is Satanic and itās time we recognize what weāre dealing with.ā
- Three years later, in 2009, he said, āIslam is a violent ā I was going to say, āreligionā, but itās not a religion; itās a political system. Itās a violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world, and world domination.ā
- Feminism, Robertson famously wrote in a 1992 fundraising letter, āis about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.ā
- After the U.S. Supreme Courtās 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the constitutional right to same-sex marriage, Robertson warned Christian business that gay customers will āmake you conform to themā: āYouāre gonna say that you like anal sex, you like oral sex, you like bestiality,ā he said. āSooner or later, youāre going to have to conform your religious beliefs to the group of some abhorrent thing. It wonāt stop at homosexuality.ā
- In 1998, Robertson said divine retribution would soon ensnare the city of Orlando as punishment for Disney Worldās Gay Days, in the form of āearthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor.ā
- āThis is a devastating blow to religious freedom and to the sanctity of America,ā he said in 2019 in response to the U.S. Houseās passage of the Equality Act, which would codify nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. He continued, āIf you want to bring the judgment of God on this nation, you just keep this stuff up. You know, I was reading in Leviticus where it said, āBecause of these things, the land will vomit you out.ā Vomit you out. I think God will say, āIāve had it with America, if you do this kind of stuff, Iām going to get rid of you as a nation.’ā Robertson then warned of āthe potential of atomic warā and the possibility of an attack on the countryās electric grid.
- In 2006, on his website Robertson began claiming that he could leg-press 2,000 pounds through training and an āAge-Defying energy shake.ā
- The following year, commenting on people who have had too much plastic surgery, Robertson said āthey got the eyes like theyāre Orientalā and manually stretched his eyelids.
- Another of his more infamous rants came in 2010, when Robertson claimed on The 700 Club that the earthquake in Haiti that year ā which killed hundreds of thousands and impacted millions ā was caused because Haitians made a deal with the devil when the country won independence from French colonial rule in 1791.
- When a viewer called in to The 700 Club in 2012 to request advice, complaining that his wife did not respect him, Robertson said the caller could move to Saudi Arabia and become a Muslim so he could beat her.
- Discussing AIDS in 2013, Robertson said, āYou know what they do in San Francisco, some in the gay community there they want to get people so if they got the stuff theyāll have a ring, you shake hands, and the ringās got a little thing where you cut your finger,ā Robertson said. āReally. Itās that kind of vicious stuff, which would be the equivalent of murder.ā
- In 2021, Robertson said critical race theory will give people of color āthe whip handleā over white people.
- When a gunman killed 60 people and wounded hundreds more in Las Vegas in 2017, Robertson blamed ādisrespectā for then-President Donald Trump and the practice among professional football players and others of taking the knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
- In February of 2022, Robertson said Russian President Vladimir Putin was ācompelled by Godā to invade Ukraine to fulfill the āend times prophecyā in Israel.
Likely one of the ugliest hate-mongering statements he made, and which especial condemnation was leveled at him, occurred in the aftermath of the June 12, 2016, massacre when 49 LGBTQ+ people were killed at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a shooter whoād pledged allegiance to a radical form of Islam.
Robertson told viewers on his religious 700 Club broadcast the following day that Americans should just let LGBTQ+ people and Muslims kill each other:
āThe left is having a dilemma of major proportions, and I think for those of us who disagree with some of their policies, the best thing to do is to sit on the sidelines and let them kill themselves,ā he said.
District of Columbia
DC Front Runners Pride 5K to take place as scheduled
Air quality improved overnight

The D.C. Front Runners’ annual Pride Run 5K will take place as scheduled at Congressional Cemetery on Friday.
The Blade Foundation, SMYAL, the Wanda Alston Foundation, Team DC, Teens Run DC, Pride 365 and Ainsley’s Angels of America are among the race’s beneficiaries. Wegmans, Shake Shack, Knead Hospitality and Design, Choice Hotels and Capital One CafĆ© are among the sponsors.
Africa
South Africa retail giant supports Pride month despite customer backlash
Woolworths South Africa to continue selling LGBTQ-specific merchandize

A South Africa retail giant has vowed to continue celebrating Pride month and LGBTQ and intersex people despite backlash from some customers.
Woolworths South Africa said will continue offering its Pride regalia to its staff and selling merchandize that recognizes the LGBTQ and intersex community. Woolworths South Africa also said it has established a Woolworths Pride (W.Pride) team, citing its values are firmly in favor of kindness and inclusivity.
āWe have established an internal W.Pride task team to give voice to and address issues faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. We have adapted our working wardrobe policy to recognize everyoneās unique preferences to style, cultural or religious needs and gender identity or expression. We have created a range of Pride merchandise and are donating funds to LGBTQIA+ support organizations,” said Woolworths South Africa. “However, we know that there is always more to be done; and we will keep looking for ways to enable, uplift and celebrate the LGTBQIA+ community. Our community guidelines don’t allow for hate speech or discrimination. Our values are firmly in favor of kindness and inclusivity.ā
OUT, an LGBTQ and intersex rights organization that is based in South Africa, commended Woolworths South Africa and criticized the backlash it received from some of its customers.
āWoolworths’ public affirmation of LGBTQIA+ allyship aligns with South Africa’s vision of a society that guarantees equality, safety and dignity for all. Itās also clear that Woolworths recognizes the importance of celebrating diversity in the LGBTQIA+ community, rather than merely tolerating it,” said OUT Human Rights Coordinator Sibonelo Ncanana. “However, the level of hateful discourse we have seen on social media in response to Woolworths’ Pride campaign is disheartening and shameful. We urge the company and other LGBTQIA+ allies within the corporate sector to stand firm against fear and hate. They should remain steadfast in the knowledge that they are on the right side of history and our constitutional values.ā
Activists hope to use Pride to raise awareness of anti-LGBTQ violence, discrimination
Although South Africa is the only African country on the continent that constitutionally recognizes LGBTQ and intersex people, sporadic attacks and hate speech remain common. One of the reasons is South African society remains oriented around cultural and religious beliefs that denounce LGBTQ and intersex people.
Violence against LGBTQ and intersex South Africans that includes rape, murder and mutilation also remains a problem.
Tankisho Tawanyana, a 34-year-old lesbian woman from Kimberly, last October was raped and killed by three men who later doused her with paraffin and set her on fire. Two women in April 2021 killed Khulekani Gomazi, a transgender woman from Mpophomeni.
Some LGBTQ and intersex rights organizations have therefore taken it upon themselves to try and ensure South African students are taught to accept people from different gender identities in order to curb attacks based on gender identity.
The Uthingo Network and 23 other civil society organizations have already raised a series of concerns about the ongoing queerphobic bullying and discrimination against queer students in South African schools and called on Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, to hold teachers accountable and create queer-affirming school environments.
āIt does not matter who you are or whom you love, everyone has a constitutional right to be themselves. Uthingo Network promotes equal rights for LGBTQI+ South Africans,ā said Uthingo Network.
Despite these problems, a number of LGBTQ and intersex rights organizations will host Pride events throughout South Africa in the coming months with the hope of raising awareness and end the discrimination and attacks against the community.
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