Gay in the Lone Star State
Shocking ruling declares Texas ban on gay marriage unconstitutional — but what's next?
A federal judge in San Antonio has overturned a 2005 amendment banning gay marriage. U.S. Judge Orlando Garcia joins a growing number of federal judges in states like Utah, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky and, more recently, Virginia who have declared bans on gay marriage are in violation of the United States Constitution. Currently, gay marriage is legal in 17 states.
In his official order, Garcia writes, "Today’s court decision is not made in defiance of the great people of Texas or the Texas Legislature, but in compliance with the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedent." You can read the ruling here.
The ruling was made after a lawsuit filed in October 2013 by Mark Phariss and Vic Holmes, who, alongside another same sex couple, sued the state of Texas for the right to marry. Phariss and Holmes, who live in Plano, were profiled in the February issue of Texas Monthly.
In it, they explain their hesitation at becoming the public face of such a hotly contested issue. But ultimately their desire to remain in the shadows was eclipsed by a greater desire for action. In the interview, Holmes said:
There’s this phenomenon where someone is in trouble and needs an ambulance, and everybody says, 'Call 911,' and everybody assumes someone else is going to do it, and nobody winds up doing it. I didn’t see anybody else doing this, so I thought, 'Okay, I’ll be the one who makes the call.'
Of course reaction to the news on Twitter and social media has been swift from both sides of the gay marriage debate. San Antonio mayor — and Democratic darling — Julian Castro tweeted:
Not to be outdone, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst lamented the decision:
Today's ruling on gay marriage by a SA federal judge undermines the values of an overwhelming majority of TX voters. https://t.co/4eFFlJsSWa
— David Dewhurst (@DavidHDewhurst) February 26, 2014It's certainly a win for civil rights activists like Phariss and Holmes, but it doesn't mean same sex couples should be lining up at the courthouse just yet. Although Garcia overturned the ban on gay marriage, he has stayed the ruling, meaning he's postponed the ruling from going into effect until Texas lawmakers have the opportunity to appeal to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
This being Texas — and Attorney General Greg Abbott being, well, who he is — that will most certainly happen.
