Domestic Partnerships

Read Jerry's column in Albuquerque's Weekly Alibi on domestic partnerships and the legislature:

Throughout his lifetime of work, Jerry has become keenly alert to inequities.

He voted for domestic partner legislation and against the “Defense of Marriage Act” (the attempt to ban gay marriage). He is committed to making the civil benefits of marriage available to all committed couples, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Passage of the Domestic Partnership legislation will allows life partners to make their own decisions on health care, inheritance, property ownership and other matters that the state should not intervene in.

The churches and religious traditions have their own ways of addressing what their beliefs are. Under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, "the state shall make no law..." The Founding Fathers didn't mince words or qualify them. They were clear. So should we be. It is a matter of fairness. The state should not create unfair conditions and should correct them when they occur.

Immigration Reform

Jerry supports immigrant access to basic rights and services, such as health and education, and voted with the majority to enable immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, regardless of document status.

New Mexico has a special and unique relationship with this issue. People have been traveling back and forth across what we now call the US/Mexico border for thousands of years. Our Indian and Hispanic cultures have relationships through time, history and family kinships that defy easy categorization.

Yet, in the midst of this, a balance must be found that can accomodate the interests of all citizens fairly.

New Mexico can provide a positive example to demonstrate that various cultures can come together and resolve this issue.