San Antonio U.S. Judge Orlando Garcia declared that the Texas ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, but delayed its implementation while Texas officials appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our United States Constitution,” Garcia wrote in his decision. “These Texas laws deny Plaintiffs access to the institution of marriage and its numerous rights, privileges, and responsibilities for the sole reason that Plaintiffs wish to be married to a person of the same sex.”
The state’s gay marriage ban was challenged by two gay couples — one seeking to marry in Texas and one seeking to have their marriage, which was performed in Massachusetts, to be recognized.
Read more here and read the order granting “plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction” here.
Image: www.shutterstock.com
