Posted on 10/01/2009 9:22:34 PM PDT by SmithL
DALLAS (AP) -- A Texas judge cleared the way for two Dallas men to get a divorce, ruling Thursday that Texas' ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional guarantee to equal protection under the law.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said he'd appeal the ruling, which he labeled an attempt to strike down the ban approved by voters in 2005.
"The laws and constitution of the State of Texas define marriage as an institution involving one man and one woman," Abbott said in a written statement. "Today's ruling purports to strike down that constitutional definition — despite the fact that it was recently adopted by 75 percent of Texas voters."
Abbott has argued that because the state doesn't recognize gay marriage, its courts can't dissolve one through divorce.
District Judge Tena Callahan's ruled Thursday, however, that the court "has jurisdiction to hear a suit for divorce filed by persons legally married in another jurisdiction."
Jennifer Pizer, marriage project director for the New York-based gay rights group Lambda Legal, said it is too early to predict the ultimate implications of the lawsuit, in which neither man is identified.
But Cathy Adams, president of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum, characterized the decision as a judicial overreach.
"Judicial activism is what they're after, and it sounds as if they found someone in Dallas to participate in their endeavor," she said. "The people of Texas have spoken very strongly in opposition to same-sex marriage."
Peter Schulte, an attorney for the man who filed for divorce, told The Dallas Morning News that he and his client are "ecstatic" over the court's ruling. Schulte said the decision was a surprise, and that he hoped to have the judge sign a divorce order in a few weeks.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.
I don’t think this will fly in Texas...amiga.
These folks need to go back to the east coast. (no offense to east coast Freepers.)
They, too, can be just as miserable as the rest of us.
Paving the way for state-endorsed sodomy...great....
Here's our Judiciary principle at the site for the Restore the Constitution effort:
The Judiciary of the United States is one of three equal constitutional legs of our federal government and is tasked directly with strictly interpreting law, not making it or enforcing it, either through activism or otherwise.
Each leg of our federal government is equal in power and in their duty to protect and defend the constitution. The Legislature makes laws, the Executive carries out and enforces law, and the Judiciary interprets the law strictly according to the intent of the constitution. Anything more than this, any attempt to use judicial activism to create laws, or to define the constitution as a "living" document outside of the amendment process, is unconstitutional and a usurpation of power that must not ever be tolerated or allowed. It is the fundamental duty of the other branches of government to stand against such usurpation, and not enforce it, and enact laws that will prevent it.
The crazy thing is that a judge can simply decide to redefine the meaning of marriage. I guess it comes from treating it as just a legal contract without reference to its social context.
The judge is elected or appointed in a Demo stronghold. my guess.
Yep...porbably so. But hopefully it will be overturned on appeal.
Pfffft, Quit confusing the issue with words.
This is the reason we can’t just get this whole universal (meaning everyone) health care! </s>
A Fan of
Barack Obama
Michelle Obama
Joe Biden
Products
The New York Times
How did this left-wing chick get appointed as a Family Court judge? Must have been an Ann Richards pick.
Judges are elected here. This underscores the importance of a Republican judiciary.
This case has nothing to do with the two men wanting a “divorce” - they are just convenient tools by the homosexual lobby to get a major part of their agenda recognized in a traditional state that has resoundingly said that this fake contrivance doesn’t exist.
It’s my opinion that this has all been planned - ALL of it. I’m sure that the two sodomites and Lambda Legal shopped long and hard for a sympathetic judge for this case. It would not even surprise me that even the “wedding” was a strategy that the homo-nazis compensated the participants for to lay the groundwork for such an attack. Don’t put anything past these anarchists.
What would be the purpose of the courts granting homosexual divorce in Texas?
Since the state doesn’t recognize homosexual marriage, its existance isn’t a hinderance to anyone in such an arrangement from getting married there.
Further, any property disputes of the parties involved can be resolved without dealing with the status of the Homosexual Marriage at all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.