Attorney general says gay rights law not subject to referendum
By: Associated Press

(Santa Fe-AP) -- New Mexico’s gay rights law is not subject to a referendum to overturn or repeal it.
That’s the legal opinion of Attorney General Patricia Madrid.

There’s a petition drive under way to try to force a vote to annul the law.

The attorney general’s legal opinion likely derails that effort, however.

There’s a July 2 deadline for submitting petitions to get a referendum on the November ballot.

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Gay spouses will face legal maze to get new benefits
BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- Next week's start of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts will give newly betrothed gay couples the right to more employee benefits from health care to retirement. Getting them, however, may be an administrative maze.

On Monday, Massachusetts is expected to become the first U.S. state to sanction full marriage for gays and lesbians and human resource executives and lawyers are bracing for a slew of questions from happy same-sex newlyweds about their rights.

Hundreds of same-sex couples are expected to marry in the state next week. Many of them may discover they will owe more taxes than heterosexual couples and that it could take weeks or even months to obtain benefits others receive much more quickly.

The biggest thorn, say lawyers, will be that same-sex couples, unlike heterosexual ones, will have to pay federal taxes on the value of their spouses' health care coverage, which can be up to $800 per month.


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Gay marriage opponents protest at Capitol

(St. Paul-AP) -- Gay marriage opponents are lining the steps leading up to the Senate chamber, trying to prompt a vote on a proposal to amend the constitution.

Specifically, the bill would put a question on the November election ballot, asking voters whether the state constitution should define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The bill's sponsor tried unsuccessfully to bring the issue to a floor vote yesterday. Supporters of the provision say they just want an up-or-down vote.

Martha Curtis of Anoka was outside the Senate chamber, holding a ``Let the People Vote'' sign. The 67-year-old retired teacher says she knows state statutes already provide that definition of marriage.