Are Feds Recognizing NM Marriages?

The Pentagon won't confirm any policy change, but one Air Force base in New Mexico has quietly recognized the local marriage of a gay couple. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

BuzzFeed spoke with the same-sex spouse of a service member stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who said the couple married in New Mexico and that she obtained a spousal ID card at the base on Tuesday. Asked for confirmation of the change in policy, Pentagon spokesman Nathan Christensen responded, “The Department will make the same benefits available to all military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation, as long as service member-sponsors provide a valid marriage certificate from a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage. I would refer you to the state of New Mexico who can discuss the specifics of their state law.” When a more specific answer was sought — as the state itself has no statewide resolution of the issue at this time because New Mexico law neither bans nor explicitly permits same-sex couples to marry — Christensen gave no further comment.

New Mexico's state Supreme Court will hear a marriage equality case in late October. Eight New Mexico counties have issued same-sex marriage licenses.