Texas is doubling down on the fight against Friday's ruling by the Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage. On Sunday, state attorney general Ken Paxton issued a statement calling the SCOTUS ruling "lawless" and declaring that county clerks could refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing religious objections.
The religious liberties of TX public officials remain constitutionally protected after #ObergefellvHodges: https://t.co/RFZBXOq30G #txlege— Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) June 28, 2015
In the statement, Paxton says:
“Indeed, for those who respect the rule of law, this lawless ruling presents a fundamental dilemma: A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is considered the law of the land, but a judge-made edict that is not based in the law or the Constitution diminishes faith in our system of government and the rule of law."
Friday, #SCOTUS again ignored the text and spirit of the Constitution to manufacture a right that simply does not exist. #txlege #tcot— Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) June 28, 2015
The reach of the Court’s opinion stops at the door of the First Amendment and our laws protecting religious liberty. #txlege #tcot— Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) June 28, 2015
Paxton's statement cites freedom of religion as outlined in the First Amendment as the reasoning for allowing clerks to deny the licenses:
"...we find that although it fabricated a new constitutional right in 2015, the Supreme Court did not diminish, overrule, or call into question the First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion that formed the first freedom in the Bill of Rights in 1791."
While our religious liberties are indisputably our first freedom, we should not let them be our last. RT if you agree!— Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) June 29, 2015
Paxton's statement follows a declaration from Texas governor Greg Abbott on Friday that he, too, would continue to fight the SCOTUS ruling.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 28, 2015
Texas is hardly alone in refusing to abide by the Supreme Court's ruling. Both Louisiana and Mississippi have said they will wait on issuing licenses. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal issued a statement echoing Gov. Abbott's statement and Alabama governor Robert Bentley, no stranger to the battle over issuing same-sex marriage licenses, is also digging in to fight the ruling.
Regardless of today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, I still believe in a one man and one woman definition of marriage.— Gov. Robert Bentley (@GovernorBentley) June 26, 2015
Those anti-same-sex marriage views are also shared by several GOP presidential candidates. Meanwhile, Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, issued statements emphatically supporting the Supreme Court's decision.
And in Texas, despite the efforts of Gov. Abbott and AG Paxton, marriage licenses have been issued to same-sex couples.