Popular and successful Santa Fe hair stylist Antonio Darden has cut New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s hair three times. Apparently pleased with the job that Darden had done, Martinez had her aides call him to make a fourth appointment, an appointment that he declined.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” you’re thinking, “Why?”
Well it’s simple, really. It’s a matter of sociopolitical disharmony . Darden, who runs Antonio’s Hair Studio, is a gay man. Martinez simply does not support gay marriage. “Because of her stances and her views on this I told her aides no,” he says . “They called the next day, asking if I’d changed my mind about taking the governor in and I said no again.”
“I think it’s just equality, dignity for everyone,” Darden continues. “I think everybody should be allowed the right to be together. My partner and I have been together for 15 years.”
Despite Martinez’s views on gay marriage (more or less that she believes marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman), she recently appointed an openly gay man to the state’s Public Regulation Commission; a decision that has earned her criticism from the religious right.
Say what you will, but this guy runs the joint and has the right to turn away any clientele for any reason. He doesn’t even need to have a reason.
So, did Darden make a good call in standing up for himself and his community or do you not think this should be such a big deal to him?
