Texas AG: County clerks can refuse gay couples

WFTV ^ | 6-28-15 | Chuck Lindell

[sheikdetailfeather]

American-Statesman

County clerks can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on religious objections to gay marriage, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday.

Paxton noted that clerks who refuse to issue licenses can expect to be sued, but added that “numerous lawyers stand ready to assist clerks defending their religious beliefs,” in many cases without charge.

Paxton said Friday’s “flawed” opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned bans against same-sex marriage in Texas and other states, placed religious people in conflict between following their faith and the U.S. Constitution

[sheikdetailfeather]

Things are going to heat up very quickly.

[Cboldt]

I don’t think so. Looks like a little bit of a relief valve, with a fairly predictable outcome based on similar precedents. Homo marriage licenses will be issued in Texas. Not every clerk has to participate.

[Army Air Corps]

Unless the state moves to no longer issue marriage licenses at all.

[BeadCounter]

Mississippi is ignoring it for now.

[Guenevere]

Bttt

[Bob434]

MORE states NEED to join Texas in banning gay marriages- IF enough states do so- the federal government WILL have to back down

[dila813]

It was a strange ruling, ruling that you can’t ban gay marriage while saying that you can still have your heart felt beliefs.

As some noted though, it strangely left out the free exercise of your religion.

So, if it isn’t banned but no one is willing to issue a license or perform a wedding because of their religion, what true force of law does it have?

Why don’t all the states implement it exactly as Texas is doing?

[Cronos]

I don’t see how they can do this — the laws are the laws, if one disagrees one needs to quit the government. And i know how hard it can be to leave a job so I’m not being flippant, just stating the logical obvious