County clerks can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on religious objections to gay marriage, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday.
Paxton noted that clerks who refuse to issue licenses can expect to be sued, but added that “numerous lawyers stand ready to assist clerks defending their religious beliefs,” in many cases without charge.
The formal opinion did not specify what constitutes a sincerely held religious belief, noting that “the strength of any such claim depends on the particular facts of each case.”
Paxton said Friday’s “flawed” opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned bans against same-sex marriage in Texas and other states, placed religious people in conflict between following their faith and the U.S. Constitution.
“Friday, the United States Supreme Court again ignored the text and spirit of the Constitution to manufacture a right that simply does not exist. In so doing, the court weakened itself and weakened the rule of law, but did nothing to weaken our resolve to protect religious liberty and return to democratic self-government in the face of judicial activists attempting to tell us how to live,” Paxton said.
Paxton’s opinion also noted that judges and justices of the peace can refuse to perform same-sex marriages.
“Judges and justices of the peace have no mandatory duty to conduct any wedding ceremony,” the opinion said, adding that couples cannot be refused on the basis of race, religion or national origin.
You can read the rest @
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/texas-ag-county-clerks-can-refuse-gay-couples/nmnRZ/
Well, THAT should be interesting.
Before you write this off as misguided, consider the fact that the Bush Justice (sic) Department wrote legal opinions authorizing torture and got away with it AND the Obama ad-Dajjal Justice (sic) Department wrote legal opinions authorizing the killing by drone of US citizens and got away with it.
Are Americans more interested in promoting same sex marriage than in halting torture and extra-judicial assassinations? And if they are, what does that tell you about us?
Update: Some in Texas government want to get the state out of the marriage business completely:
http://truthinmedia.com/tx-state-rep-calls-for-special-session-to-divorce-marriage-from-government/
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Texas Employee Retirement System, which administers state employee benefit plans, is already encouraging employees with same sex partners to enroll them for benefits.
Is Texas at war with itself, or what?
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