Texas AG Asks State Supreme Court to Invalidate Same-Sex Marriage License Issued in Travis County
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Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images(AUSTIN, Texas) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton formally asked the Texas Supreme Court to invalidate a same-sex marriage license issued to a couple in Travis County earlier this week.
“The rogue actions of Travis County judges do not withstand the scrutiny of law,” Paxton said in a statement. “The same-sex marriage license issued [Thursday] is not valid because it conflicts with the Texas Constitution and State law.”
Paxton’s petition for a writ of mandamus states that the trial court that issued the ruling allowing the marriage license to be issued “abused its discretion because (1) it held Texas law unconstitutional and enjoined enforcement of the law without first notifying the Texas Attorney General…and (2) it failed to wait for this Court’s resolution of the constitutionality of longstanding Texas marriage law, which is currently under review.”
On Thursday, Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir issued a marriage license to a same-sex couple after a federal judge signed a court order demanded she “cease and desist relying on the unconstitutional Texas prohibitions against same-sex marriage as a basis for not issuing a marriage license.” The particular couple who received the license were singled out because one of the women has “severe and immediate health concerns.”
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