The Supreme Court of New Mexico declared same-sex marriage constitutional in a landmark ruling Thursday afternoon, making the state the 16th, plus the District of Columbia, with full marriage equality. The ruling, which was unanimous, held that denying marriage rights to same-sex couples violated the state's Equal Protection Clause. "We hold that the State of New Mexico is constitutionally required to allow same-gender couples to marry and must extend to them the rights, protections, and responsibilities that derive from civil marriage under New Mexico law," the justices wrote. The case arose after eight of the state's 33 counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples this past summer.