Texas is lawyering up in a fight against the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic ruling on same-sex marriage.
State Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion on Sunday, claiming clerks, judges and justices of the peace could dodge their legal responsibilities to issue licenses and perform weddings based on their religious beliefs.
Paxton advises clerks opposed to the Supreme Court’s “lawless” opinion could pawn off their work of issuing licenses to more liberal-minded deputies.
He acknowledged the clerks run the risk of being sued and fined.
“But, numerous lawyers stand ready to assist clerks defending their religious beliefs, in many cases on a pro-bono basis, and I will do everything I can from this office to be a public voice for those standing in defense of their rights,” he said in a tough-talking statement.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims clerks and justices of the peace can reject same-sex marriages if they have a religious objection.
Judges and others who perform the weddings could simply refuse on religious grounds because there are plenty of others who can marry people, Paxton said.
“Importantly, the reach of the Court’s opinion stops at the door of the First Amendment and our laws protecting religious liberty,” Paxton said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, along with Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, has vowed to buck the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling, which guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide.
Several Texas counties immediately began issuing licenses on Friday in compliance with the ruling, and octogenarians Jack Evans and George Harris became the first gay couple to wed in Dallas County after 54 years together.
But Abbott claimed the court “abandoned its role as an impartial judicial arbiter and has become an unelected nine-member legislature.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked Paxton to advise the state on the impact of the ruling.
In his response, Paxton claimed religious freedoms of government workers trumped the “flawed” federal ruling.
“Our religious liberties find protection in state and federal constitutions and statutes,” Paxton wrote. “While they are indisputably our first freedom, we should not let them be our last.”
His opinion did little to impress at least one clerk who has begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
“I don’t believe there is a lot of merit in their opinion,” Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir told the Houston Chronicle after speaking to the county attorney, adding. “We are public servants in a secular role to uphold the law of the land. We have separation of church and state. We need to remember that.”