In late August, New Mexico's Doña Ana County made history when it began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
County Clerk Lynn Ellins was leading the charge, which engaged other
counties until the the New Mexico Supreme Court finally decided the
matter.
In September, Ellins began raising private donations to help the county cover the cost of its legal fees and the fundraising effort was so successful that there was more cash to spare.
Ellins is now donating that money to a New Mexico group established to protect equal marriage rights, the Las Cruces Sun reports:
Ellins had raised private donations --
via a website and at his county office -- to pay for his defense in a
civil lawsuit brought by opponents of his controversial August decision
to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
After paying his legal bill, Ellins
estimated a few thousand dollars are leftover. And he said he's giving
that money to a campaign called New Mexico Unites for Marriage Equality.
"It's a nonprofit organization that was
established the last year to basically protect the same-gender marriage
rights," Ellins said.
Ellins' legal expenses tied to the state
district court lawsuit totaled nearly $31,759, according to a Doña Ana
County news release.
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