 On December 19, 2013, that court issued a unanimous decision in "Griego v. Oliver" holding that marriage licenses must be issued to couples without respect to gender, making New Mexico the 17th state to legalize same-sex marriage.New Mexico Statutes §40-1 and §40-4 define marriage and the legal status of marriages from other jurisdictions;

In July 2007, a Massachusetts court determined that New Mexico did not have a statute banning same-sex marriage and therefore same-sex couples that were resident in New Mexico could marry in Massachusetts.State Representative Al Park raised the issue a few years later, posing a formal inquiry to New Mexico Attorney General Gary K. King who offered his view on January 4, 2011, that "a same-sex marriage that is valid under the laws of the country or state where it was consummated would likely be valid in New Mexico."