A federal judge on Wednesday struck down Texas’s ban on same-sex marriage, declaring that it “demeans the dignity” of same-sex couples “for no legitimate reason.”

US district judge Orlando Garcia stayed his ruling pending an appeal by state officials, so marriage practices in the state were not set to change immediately.

In a methodically argued 48-page ruling, Garcia said that the Texas ban “conflicts with the United States constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.”

A US supreme court ruling last year that found a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (Doma) to be unconstitutional was central to the judge’s ruling. In United States v Windsor, the high court ruled that a federal definition of “marriage” as between a man and a woman was unconstitutional.



“Now, the lower courts must apply the supreme court’s decision in Windsor and decide whether a state can do what the federal government cannot – discriminate against same-sex couples,” Garcia wrote.

The answer was no.

Gay marriage opponents moved swiftly to condemn the ruling. Texas governor Rick Perry, a Republican, vowed to “fight for the rights of Texans to self-determine the laws of our state.”

“Texans spoke loud and clear by overwhelmingly voting to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman in our constitution, and it is not the role of the federal government to overturn the will of our citizens,” he said.

Texas attorney general Greg Abbott, a Republican who is expected to face Democrat Wendy Davis in the governor’s race, promised to appeal the decision.

“This is an issue on which there are good, well-meaning people on both sides,” Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general, said in a statement. “The US supreme court has ruled over and over again that States have the authority to define and regulate marriage,” Abbott said. “The Texas constitution defines marriage as between one man and one woman. If the fifth circuit honors those precedents, then today’s decision should be overturned and the Texas constitution will be upheld.”

Earlier this month, Davis said that she is in favour of same-sex marriage. Texas Democratic party chair Gilberto Hinojosa said on his party’s website: “We look forward to the day in Texas when everyone can marry who they love. This is a historic day for the LGBT community and the state of Texas.”

“We are extremely happy – happy beyond words,” Mark Phariss and Victor Holmes, one of the couples who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.

The other, Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman, who married in Massachusetts and have a young son, said in a statement: “Ultimately, the repeal of Texas’s ban will mean that our son will never know how this denial of equal protections demeaned our family and belittled his parents’ relationship. We look forward to the day when, surrounded by friends and family, we can renew our vows in our home state of Texas.”

Rebecca Robertson, the legal and policy director of the ACLU of Texas, praised the decision. “ Gay and lesbian couples want the same thing as other loving couples – to stand before family and friends and declare their lifetime commitment to each other, and to enjoy the same recognition and protection for their families that only marriage can bring. We applaud the judge’s preliminary ruling, but we also recognize that there is a great deal of hard work to do to bring full equality to every Texan.”

The plaintiffs in the Texas suit were two couples. One was a lesbian couple who were married in Boston in 2009 and have a child together, although the non-biological mother had not undergone a formal adoption process. The second was a gay pair who have been together 17 years and are seeking to get married in Texas. Both couples include a US air force veteran.

Federal judges in recent weeks have struck down gay marriage bans in Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia without trials. At least 17 states and the District of Columbia now allow marriage by same-sex couples.

Earlier this month, a district judge in Virginia found that the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage violated the 14th amendment. A challenge to Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriages opened on Tuesday. Attorney general Eric Holder said Monday that state attorney generals would not be required by the Department of Justice to defend their state’s bans on same-sex marriage.

Garcia’s decision in Texas overturned a constitutional amendment that enjoyed wide approval when it was passed in 2005. Proposition 2, as the amendment was known, passed a statewide referendum by a margin of 76-24.

Garcia found the amendment to be a violation of constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection before the law. “Texas’ current marriage laws deny homosexual couples the right to marry, and in doing so, demean their dignity for no legitimate reason,” Garcia wrote.

Dan Patrick, a Houston-based Republican state senator who is running for lieutenant governor in next week’s Republican primary, condemned Garcia’s ruling.

“Marriage is between one man and one woman. Period,” Patrick wrote on Twitter. “As lieutenant governor I’ll fight activist judges and defend our traditional Texas values,” he added.

However, this trenchant stance was somewhat undermined by an apparent slip-up earlier in the day, as captured by Twitter users including Aman Batheja of the Texas Tribune:

Aman Batheja (@amanbatheja) Preserved for history. RT @amanbatheja: I defy you to find a better typo today: https://t.co/OY7xXWWCYy pic.twitter.com/G1LxTkNqsA

A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll this week showed that 31% of likely voters support Patrick in the 4 March primary, with the incumbent, David Dewhurst, leading with 37%. Since he unexpectedly lost to Tea Party darling Ted Cruz in a battle for the Republican senate nomination in 2012, Dewhurst has sought to emphasise his conservative credentials.

“I am a longtime defender of marriage as a union between one man and one woman, which is why I led the effort to pass the Defense of Marriage Act back in 2003 and pressed for a constitutional amendment in 2005,” Dewhurst said Wednesday in a statement.

“Once again, an activist federal judge has unilaterally attempted to undermine the will of the people of Texas who affirmed this amendment with 76% of the vote. I am insisting that the state of Texas appeal this ruling to protect our time-tested, traditional Texas values.”

The amendment to the state constitution which defined marriage as between a man and a woman was approved by more than three-quarters of Texas voters in 2005. Recent years have seen a significant shift in opinion towards support of gay marriage in large parts of the US, including the Lone Star State. A poll last year found that an increasing number of Texans are in favour of gay marriage or civil unions, with the majority of respondents in support of some form of same-sex union.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

