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It has been just over seven months since the Supreme Court handed down its landmark Obergefell ruling. And it has been almost five months since Kim Davis was released from jail, bringing to an end a particularly egregious violation of civil rights in Kentucky and launching her into untold Religious Right martyrdom. But, no real surprise, we’re still seeing resistance to marriage equality in some corners.
The latest example of a bigoted state official who really, really wants to be a martyr comes from Justice of the Peace Bill Metzger in Mesquite, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). It should be noted that, in Texas, justices of the peace are not required to perform marriages, but many do to bring in extra income through fees. However, there seems to be agreement among experts that what is not optional is complying with Obergefell should they decide to perform marriages. In other words, it’s all or none.
Enter our right-wing, felony-indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton. In response to an inquiry from Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Paxton handed down a non-binding opinion just days after Obergefell on whether or not state employees were required to, you know, follow federal law. I’ll give you one guess as to what the opinion had to say…
Before [Obergefell] occurred, you [Patrick] asked whether-in the event the Texas definition of marriage is overturned-government officials such as employees of county clerks, justices of the peace, and judges may refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses or conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies if doing so would violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.
[...]
County clerks and their employees retain religious freedoms that may allow accommodation of their religious objections to issuing same-sex marriage licenses. The strength of any such claim depends on the particular facts of each case.
Justices of the peace and judges similarly retain religious freedoms, and may claim that the government cannot force them to conduct same-sex wedding ceremonies over their religious objections, when other authorized individuals have no objection, because it is not the least restrictive means of the government ensuring the ceremonies occur. The strength of any such claim depends on the particular facts of each case.
Unfortunately for Paxton and state officials who think his non-binding opinion “protects” them, complying with Supreme Court rulings is not optional. But Paxton knows this. As Towleroad astutely points out, then-Attorney General Jim Mattox took just the opposite approach 33 years ago when it came to interracial marriages performed by justices of the peace:
Once a justice of the peace undertakes to exercise the authority granted him by article 1.83 of the Family Code, he may not refuse to exercise it on racial grounds. We conclude that a justice of the peace is barred by the equal protection clause from imposing a racial test upon the right to marry.
But guess what this latest wannabe Christian martyr, Metzger, is citing in defense of his decision to discriminate against gays and lesbians. Well, other than his “devout Catholic[ism].” That’s right. From his Facebook page:
Dallas Democrats have responded to Metzger’s promise to discriminate with calls for his resignation. Dallas County Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Donovan had some strong words:
By refusing to officiate same-sex marriages, Judge Bill Metzger is not only violating federal law, as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court, but he is also violating his Oath of Office.
The Dallas Morning News has more:
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said any judge who uses his or her government position to perform marriages in a blatantly discriminatory way is subjecting taxpayers to the risk of a lawsuit.
“Dallas County taxpayers should not have to provide them with a free lawyer when they get sued, and that still doesn’t take care of the concern that they may get the county sued,” Jenkins said.
[...]
Ken Upton Jr., senior counsel for national LGBT advocacy group Lambda Legal, said Metzger can either conduct marriages for everyone or choose not to officiate them at all.
[...]
Besides a federal lawsuit, Metzger could face a state-level complaint from a couple arguing that he is violating judicial ethics rules that require him to comply with the law and act impartially, Upton said.
Upton also had this to say, which I think gets to the heart of this whole situation:
If he was really doing it out of conviction, why wouldn’t he just quietly do it? It would probably never get any attention. So when he posts a big article on his Facebook page and makes a specific reference to his Catholic faith and all, it’s grandstanding because he wants the attention and he wants to be a martyr.
Indeed.
Recall that Hood County (Texas) Clerk Katie Lang’s little act of Obergefell rebellion resulted in a bill of over $43,000 to taxpayers. We’ll see what comes of this, but I don’t think it’s going to work out well for Metzger—or for Dallas County taxpayers.
Top Comments (February 6, 2016):
From Puddytat:
I loved this comment by Eric Nelson about midterm elections.
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