Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 329, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 27, 2015 Page: 5 of 24
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GAY MARRIAGE RULING
5A
Denton Record-Chronicle
Saturday, June 27, 2015
From Page 1A
From Page 1A
Local
Ruling
of the Supreme Court’s decision
affirming the right to same-sex
marriage.
“I don’t look for that to be the
same in Denton County,” she
said.
in the nation’s social norms in
recent years. As recently as last
October, just over one-third of
the states permitted gay mar-
W
nages.
Kennedy’s reading of the rul-
ing elicited tears in the court-
room, euphoria outside and the
immediate issuance of marriage
licenses to same-sex couples in
at least eight states. In Dallas,
Kenneth Denson said he and
•fWT
Republicans hold all of Den-
ton County’s elected offices.
Moreover, as things stood
Friday, Horn said she would re-
fuse to marry a same-sex couple
if they were to come to her.
“I believe it’s within my
rights to say no,” Horn said, add-
ing that she has refused to per-
form weddings in other situa-
tions over the years, including
being too busy to do so.
All levels of judges — from
the Texas Supreme Court to the
justices of the peace, county and
municipal court judges includ-
ed — may officiate a wedding in
Texas.
V
\ V
^ v.
Gabriel Mendez had been legal-
ly married in 2013 in California
but “we’re Texans; we want to
get married in Texas.”
In praise of the decision,
President Barack Obama called
it “justice that arrives like a
thunderbolt.”
Four of the court’s justices
weren’t cheering. The dissenters
accused their colleagues of
usurping power that belongs to
the states and to voters, and
short-circuiting a national de-
bate about same-sex marriage.
“This court is not a legisla-
ture. Whether same-sex mar-
riage is a good idea should be of
no concern to us,” Chief Justice
John Roberts wrote in dissent.
“If you are among the many
Americans — of whatever sexual
orientation — who favor ex-
panding same-sex marriage, by
all means celebrate today’s deci-
sion,” Roberts said. “But do not
celebrate the Constitution. It
had nothing to do with it.”
Justice Antonin Scalia said
he was not concerned so much
about same-sex marriage as
“this court’s threat to American
democracy.” He termed the deci-
sion a “judicial putsch.” Justices
Samuel Alito and Clarence
Thomas also dissented.
Several religious organiza-
tions criticized the decision.
The U.S. Conference of Cath-
olic Bishops said it was “pro-
foundly immoral and unjust for
the government to declare that
two people of the same sex can
constitute a marriage.”
Kennedy said nothing in the
court’s ruling would force reli-
gions to condone, much less per-
form, weddings to which they
object. And he said the couples
seeking the right to marry
should not have to wait for the
political branches of govern-
ment to act.
The 14th Amendment to the
Constitution requires states to
allow same-sex couples to marry
on the same basis as heterosexu-
als, he said
“No union is more profound
than marriage,” Kennedy wrote,
joined by the court’s four more
liberal justices.
The stories of the people ask-
ing for the right to marry “reveal
that they seek not to denigrate
marriage but rather to live their
lives, or honor their spouses’
memory, joined by its bond,”
Kennedy said.
As he read his opinion, spec-
tators in the courtroom wiped
away tears when the import of
the decision became clear. One of
those in the audience was James
Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in
the Supreme Court fight.
Outside, Obergefell held up a
photo of his late spouse, John
Arthur, and said the ruling es-
tablishes that “our love is equal.”
He added, “This is for you,
John.”
*rt
Horn said she would wait for
guidance from Texas Attorney
General Ken Paxton.
On Thursday, Paxton urged
clerks to wait before issuing
marriage licenses in Texas. A lit-
tle after 10 a.m. Friday, his office
issued another statement saying
it would soon address “ques-
tions about the religious liber-
ties of clerks of court and justic-
es of the peace.”
About noon Friday, Gov.
Greg Abbott’s office issued a
press release urging officials to
preserve the religious liberties
and First Amendment rights of
all Texans.
Republican Party officials
pledged to fight the decision on
religious liberties, but no guid-
ance came from state officials
Kristen Watson/DRC
Ellen Depee, left, smiles after saying, “I do,” during her wedding ceremony to Angelia Ford on Friday evening on the steps of the
Courthouse on the Square.
adding that fighting the deci-
sion would make Texas a laugh-
ingstock.
“This is like swinging a paper
sword at a windmill,” Wolper
said. “And it’s a waste of taxpay-
ers’ money.”
The Supreme Court decision
drew concern from the Rev. Ce-
dric Chambers, pastor at Mount
Calvary Baptist Church in Den-
ton, who said he understands
the pursuit of equality under the
Same-sex marriage license status by Texas county
County clerk offices
across Texas were
contacted to see
whether they’re
giving out marriage
licenses to same-sex
couples. Here are the
results:
■ Yes
■ No
As of
5 p.m.
Friday
Waiting on state
Unknown
HOOD CO.
DENTON CO.
PARKER CO.
DALLAS CO.
ANDERSON CO.
m
law.
“I see from their side that
love is equal, and for the nonbe-
liever, it seems OK,” Chambers
said. “But for those that follow
the word of God and the Bible,
this goes against what God cre-
ated us to be.”
He was most concerned
whether he’d be required to pre-
side over a same-sex marriage.
“That’s something I wouldn’t
be able to do,” Chambers said.
In an interview, Edmondson
said she, like many people, had
been praying about the deci-
sion. She hoped resolution
could be found in a new Texas
law sponsored by Sen. Craig Es-
tes, R-Wichita Falls, and recent-
ly signed by the governor that
protects pastoral rights.
Whether prayer services and
vigils against gay marriage were
planned at any Denton-area
churches, synagogues or
mosques was unclear. Calls to
several area religious leaders
were not returned.
Pamela Wat, minister of
Denton Unitarian Universalist
Church, followed the news all
day. She found it heartening
that so many couples would fi-
nally be able to marry, some of
whom have been committed to
each other for decades, she said.
She is planning a wedding
chapel and party on July 11. The
Unitarian Church and others
will perform ceremonies and
celebrate same-sex marriages
that day, she said.
Wat posted on social media
early Friday that she was avail-
able to perform a wedding cere-
mony for anyone who came to
the Square on Friday evening
with a valid marriage license.
Supporters of the Supreme
Court decision announced Fri-
day morning they would rally on
the Square at 6 p.m., hinting
Friday.
Dianne Edmondson, Den-
ton County Republican Party
chairwoman, said Friday was a
sad day for the nation, likening
the decision to throwing away
thousands of years of God’s law
and civilized culture like gar-
bage.
*
JEFF DAVIS CO.
W ft
% »
“I agree with Justice [Anto-
nin] Scalia who wrote his own
dissent, in addition to Chief Jus-
tice [John] Roberts’ version,
when he called attention to this
BURLESON CO.
NOTE: Counties labeled “Waiting on state” are
either waiting for Attorney General Ken Paxton’s
order before issuing licenses or waiting for new
marriage documents without gender-specific
identifiers.
JACKSON CO.
court’s threat to American de-
mocracy,” Edmondson wrote in
an email. “He warns that the
Court goes beyond its role as a
neutral arbiter and that we have
lost the right to govern our-
selves. After all, only ll states ac-
tually voted by the people or
their elected officials to allow
gay marriages, and the other
two dozen have had gay mar-
riage forced upon them by judi-
cial fiat.”
She said she believed two of
the justices, Ruth Bader Gins-
burg and Elena Kagan, had per-
formed gay marriages and, as
such, should have recused
themselves from the decision.
“No neutrality was possible
with those two justices,” Ed-
mondson wrote. “What a shame
that the highest court in our
land doesn’t have a code of judi-
cial ethics as do all the other
courts.”
Phyllis Wolper, Denton
County Democratic Party chair-
woman, cautioned that the peo-
ple of Texas would pay the price
through litigation if the Texas
attorney general’s office stages
some kind of constitutional bat-
tle against same-sex marriage.
“This is a constitutional right
that is welcomed by a huge ma-
jority of Texans,” Wolper said,
BASTROP CO.
4
WILLACY CO.
*
Luke Morris/DMA/
SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research
Gay marriage
Legal before Friday B Not legal before Friday
York in 20U, Cruz said she has
seen a lot of suffering in her
practice.
“People thrive in a communi-
ty with others,” she said.
Former Denton resident
Dennis Sloan, who is a Texas
Woman’s University graduate,
said he’s happy Texans and oth-
ers now have access to a right he
enjoyed while living in New
York and California. He and his
partner have talked about mov-
ing back to Texas but have hes-
itated because of the inequali-
ties.
w
\
“There’s a long way to go
with a ton of related issues,
sure,” Sloan said. “But today is
for celebrating one huge step
forward.”
PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE
can be reached at 940-566-
6881 and via Twitter at
@phwolfeDRC.
that the gathering might end in
a wedding.
Carmen Cruz, director of
OUTreach Denton — one of the
local advocacy groups partici-
pating in the rally — said the
event marked an important mo-
ment in U.S. history. Some gay
people live in isolation and are
hurt by the social stigma at-
tached to gay/lesbian relation-
ships.
A licensed professional
counselor and an openly gay
woman who married in New
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 329, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 27, 2015, newspaper, June 27, 2015; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125155/m1/5/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .