Attorney General Ken Paxton is calling on the Texas Supreme Court to invalidate the state’s first same-sex marriage. Paxton filed a petition with the high court just after noon today.
The court granted Paxton’s request for a stay Thursday, which had the effect of preventing other same-sex marriage licenses from being issued. But that left unanswered the question of Suzanne Bryant and Sarah Goodfriend’s marriage. They wed at the Travis County Clerk’s office yesterday after a judge granted a special order, citing the health of one of the women.
In Paxton's filing, he says that invalidating the marriage is "necessary to avoid the legal chaos that would follow if the trial court's ruling is mistakenly interpreted as authorization for the creation or recognition of same-sex marriages in Travis County or throughout the state."
Texas still has a statewide ban on same-sex marriage; the constitution specifies that marriage is between one man and one woman. The U.S. Supreme Court could settle the question of whether or not state marriage bans are unconstitutional this summer.
Read more about this ongoing story here. KUT will continue to update this developing story.
