Opinion

Paxton makes a troubling choice for his first assistant

Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s choice of Jeff Mateer as his first assistant is hardly surprising, but it is still troubling.

Mateer is best known for his work on religious liberty cases, which fits well with Paxton. Some may remember that after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in this country, Paxton said clerks could cite their faith as reasons to ignore the court’s ruling.

Mateer, once the director of the legal team at the Plano-based First Liberty Institute, championed this view. It offered to advise any clerks who might cite their faiths as reason to refuse to marry same-sex couples. During his tenure with First Liberty, Mateer also fought Plano over an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting sexual orientation and gender identity. He has also cast doubt on the separation of church and state, saying it’s a “misleading metaphor” that infringes on First Amendment rights.

Whoa there. This is a popular myth in some circles because the words “separation of church and state” are not in the text of the Constitution, but this ignores context (and history). The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

In Article VI, it also says, elected officials must take an oath of office, “but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

Mateer’s entitled to his views as a private citizen. But as Paxton’s first assistant, he now works for all Texans. That includes same-sex couples and the transgender community. Will he now fight for their civil rights, particularly the right to marriage as granted by the Supreme Court? Given Mateer’s stated views and history of legal activism, we have serious doubts.