The state’s attorney general Ken Paxton says clerks retain religious freedoms that allow ‘religious objections to issuing same-sex marriage licenses’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Texas county clerks may refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite last week’s supreme court ruling that established a nationwide right to same-sex marriage, the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton said on Sunday.



A 5-4 decision by the nation’s highest court on Friday made same-sex marriage a right throughout the US. The ruling, the culmination of decades of activism, set off days of celebrations in cities from New York to San Francisco. It also unleashed a backlash from conservatives, especially in the south, who vowed to circumvent the verdict on the grounds of religious liberty.

Gay marriage faces southern rebellion as couples hit state bureaucracy's wall Read more

Paxton was among the conservative leaders who encouraged county clerks to balk at what he called a “lawless decision by an activist court”, offering a moral defense for officials who object to same-sex marriage.

“County clerks and their employees retain religious freedoms that may allow accommodation of their religious objections to issuing same-sex marriage licenses,” Paxton wrote in non-binding legal opinion issued on Sunday.

Dallas County clerk John Warren said his office began issuing same-sex marriage licenses on Friday, following the ruling. Warren told the Dallas Morning News that he would not force any employee to issue a license to a same-sex couple.

“Some people are extremely religious, and I will respect that,” Warren said. “And if those are the sentiments of the lieutenant governor then I would say that if someone is comfortable or wants that policy in place, I don’t have a problem with it.”

On Monday morning, a spokeswoman for Warren’s office said it had issued at least 154 licenses to same-sex couples. The office opened again on Monday.

Also on Sunday, Denton county clerk Juli Luke, who had resisted the supreme court ruling, said her office would begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Monday.

“Personally, same-sex marriage is in contradiction to my faith and belief that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Luke said in a statement. “However, first and foremost, I took an oath on my family Bible to uphold the law and as an elected public official my personal belief cannot prevent me from issuing the licenses as required.”

Paxton’s statement was made in response to a request by the Texas lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, about how local officials should respond to the ruling.

In a statement on Sunday, Patrick commended Paxton for his “comprehensive opinion”.

“As I had hoped when I requested this opinion [attorney] general Paxton has affirmed that county clerks, judges and justices of the peace do in fact retain religious freedom to object,” Patrick wrote.

“No public employee, judge or justice of the peace should be forced to participate in an activity contrary to the covenants of their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

In the statement, Paxton noted that officials who refuse to issue marriage licenses are likely to be fined or face litigation. He assured those willing to “defend their religious objections” that there were “numerous lawyers” willing to defend their rights – many of whom would offer their services free of charge.

Paxton promised to be a strong voice in defense of those who refuse to issue the licenses.

“Our religious liberties find protection in state and federal constitutions and statutes,” Paxton wrote. “While they are indisputably our first freedom, we should not let them be our last.”

In a previous statement, Paxton said Texas would move to protect religious people from “abuse”, vowing to respond by “recognizing the primacy and importance of our first freedom – religious liberty”.

Paxton has hinted that Texas may pursue a similar law to that passed in North Carolina, over the veto of that state’s governor, which allows state officials to rebuff marrying same-sex couples on the basis of a “sincerely held religious objection”.

In a statement on Friday, Texas governor Greg Abbott used almost identical language.