Texas judges who decline to perform a wedding based on “sincerely held” religious views, such as their disapproval of LGBTQ+ unions, aren’t violating state rules on judicial impartiality, the state’s all-Republican Supreme Court has determined.
The Texas Supreme Court added the one-sentence comment to the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct on Oct. 24, potentially creating hurdles for LGBTQ+ people seeking to marry, especially in rural areas.
Further, the comment could play a role in a federal lawsuit vying to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage in 2015, according to a report by Dallas NPR station KERA.
The Texas Supreme Court added the one-sentence comment to the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct on Oct. 24, potentially creating hurdles for LGBTQ+ people seeking to marry, especially in rural areas.
Further, the comment could play a role in a federal lawsuit vying to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage in 2015, according to a report by Dallas NPR station KERA.
The high court’s alteration to the rules appears to come out of a legal dispute that arose when the State Commission on Judicial Conduct sanctioned a Waco judge who refused to marry LGBTQ+ couples while continuing to officiate ceremonies for straight ones, KERA reports.
A county judge in North Texas subsequently sued to challenge the sanction, setting up the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to ask the Texas Supreme Court whether it could create an exemption in the Code of Judicial Conduct.
Jason Mazzone, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign law professor who’s analyzed the North Texas case, told KERA the high court’s action may resolve the individual judge’s claim. However, he said LGBTQ+ couples turned away by judges still could sue to challenge their action.
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