Texas Judge Refuses to Marry Same-Sex Couples, Cites Supreme Court Decision

Earlier DU threads:
• Texas judge appeals obligation to perform gay marriage ceremonies
• Judge Uses Supreme Court's Gay Wedding Website Ruling for Her Own Anti-LGBTQ Lawsuit

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Source: The Advocate

Texas Judge Refuses to Marry Same-Sex Couples, Cites Supreme Court Decision

BY CHRISTOPHER WIGGINS
JULY 14 2023 11:21 AM EST

A Texas judge is trying to use a recent Supreme Court ruling to justify her refusal to perform same-sex marriages. In a brief filed in state court, the judge who was reprimanded in 2019 for refusing to conduct same-sex marriages argued that even though the U.S. Supreme Court based its ruling in the 303 Creative LLC vs. Eleniscase where a Colorado web designer’s right to not service same-sex couples was upheld on First Amendment grounds rather than state law, it should apply to her lawsuit as well.

Dianne Hensley has waged a public battle against the State Commission on Judicial Conduct since the state agency warned her about refusing to perform same-sex marriages in 2019, the Texas Tribune reports.

When the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly rebuked her in December 2019, she sued. Among the reasons for the sanction was “casting doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing before her as a judge due to the person’s sexual orientation,” according to public documents.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that a web designer could not be forced to craft messages that violated her beliefs about same-sex couples.

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Read more: https://www.advocate.com/law/judge-marriage-equality-supreme-court