A Gay Marriage/Civil Union Update

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News from the New Mexico legislature yesterday. There are two bills working their way through the capitol, one a DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) would seek to define marriage as being between a man and a woman only. The second, would void civil unions made in other states (there are currently 5 states and the District of Columbia that recognize civil unions.)

Yesterday, both bills were tabled in the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee, effectively stopping them from continuing. While there is a possibility the issue might rise again, the LGBT community is cautiously optimistic.

From Equality New Mexico:

“We don’t dare call today’s development a victory, but we are clearly happy that these bills have been tabled for now. EQNM applauds our legislators who saw this bill as an affront New Mexico's families,” noted Todd McElroy, Los Alamos resident and EQNM Board Member. “We will remain vigilant, however, to see that these bills do not rise again in the remaining days of this session.”

Meanwhile, in Hawaii a bill to recognize civil unions has just passed after years of debate. The bill will now go to the governor where it is unclear whether or not the bill will be signed or vetoed.

While the future is still unclear, at least Facebook fully recognizes civil unions.