Good News and Bad News
The good news:
United States District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio has granted a motion for preliminary injunction preventing the State of Texas from further enforcement of restrictions in the Texas Family Code and the Texas Constitution that have prevented same-sex couples from marrying in Texas. Judge Garcia ruled that the state’s current restrictions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and are therefore unenforceable.
The bad news:
Judge Garcia issued an immediate stay of his own order, meaning that same-sex couples will not be able to marry in Texas while this case is appealed.
Rats! I was expecting a slew of very cool wedding invitations.
It’s like the right hand doesn’t have a clue as to what the left hand is doing down there in TX …
1Marcia–Worse, the right hand often doesn’t have a clue what the *right* hand is doing here…
2First, his order prevents the Texas restrictions, but then, he restricts the order to restrict the restrictons until it is appealed.
3The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection! For all of us! Not just white male heterosexuals. Unstay the stay!
In reaction, AG (Guv wannabe) G. Abbott vowed to defend the Texas ban on gay marriage all the way to the SCOTUS if required. I’m sure tons of taxpayers money will go toward defending the indefensible.
4You’ll get your invitations! We just hafta wait a little while longer (I know! I KNOW!! but ask your mother, LIFE is unfair!)
I want to see this stupid law get deconstructed, either in the 5th Circuit or at the Supreme Court. Deconstructed. Shattered to bits (there was nearly an unfortunate word contretemps in there but I caught it! Whew!), because this is NOT a “state’s rights” (!!) thing, and it involves not only the 14th and due process, but also the commerce clause: married people don’t need to be kept from moving to this state or that state in the UNITED States because their marriages are considered invalid – it’s absurd!
And no, the rest of you in more enlightened states can’t just kick us out either, even when the toddlers among us whine and threaten to secede! So there 😛 – and anyway we’d STILL have Juanita Jean herownself!
5It appears to be pretty common to issue an immediate stay after something like this, when the ruling is certain to be appealed. It didn’t happen in Utah because the AG’s office screwed up and didn’t apply for a stay.
6And don’t forget, Lawrence and Garner vs Texas was one of the big decisions handed down by the Supremes that overturned the anti sodomy laws in 2003. It would be fitting if this Texas case did the same for marriage!
7I was very happy to see the news because a) it’s about time and b) it will **** off people who dearly deserve to be ****ed off. They need to read the Constitution– and the red-letter part of their Bibles to find out what Jesus didn’t say.
8These gohmerts invited me to the fight. Marriage equality doesn’t effect us, but it does effect some of our friends. Then the gohmerts starting stamping out their little hissy fits and dogma. So now, the gohmerts want a Constitutional battle. Great! Bring it on. Will be very happy to watch them receive a document slap-a-dural.
9The stay is actually a very good thing. If the district judge had not stayed this proceeding, the Fifth Circuit most certainly would. That proceeding would have given Abbott lots of free press and media and the opportunity to claim a “win” when the stay was issued. By doing it now, the district judge prevented that whole side show from happening. Very smart.
10Rick Perry is opposed for three reasons. It violates the Texas Constitution, the 10th amendment trumps the other amendments and… OOPS!
11I’ve been married 40 years of my life. Bought a couple of houses and cars for women I dont like much any more.
12Got to know AG offices in a couple different counties a lot more than I cared to. I’m sorry for gays I know who what to marry their partners here in Texas. We just need to talk before they do that’s all.
Here in Costa Rica, we’ve got a real dilly going. The blue-nosed puritanical wackos got a new marriage law passed last year, but somehow forgot to define marriage as a “union between a man and a woman.” Nobody noticed the omission until it had already been signed into law. Because there was nothing in the law to prevent a same-sex couple from getting a license, several couples have applied – and been turned turned down at the municipal offices. So they sued. The Supreme Court here just today kicked the trial down to a local court – there’s no constitutional issue involved, they said. So now the municipality has to defend the indefensible. We may get gay marriage here by mistake! Hooray for incompetence!
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