Lang issued the license shortly after the couple filed suit, but Dallas Voice has heard no word yet on whether Cato and Stapleton will drop their lawsuit now. Lang and her underlings didn’t yet have the appropriate forms, the sign said.
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A clerk in a small Texas county has found that her attempt to weasel out of issuing a marriage license to a gay couple has put her office in the crosshairs of the media and the justice system. That announcement came after the USA Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide and amid fears among religious conservatives that they would be forced by law to participate in the unions.
Last week, Texas’ Republican governor and attorney general said local judges and county clerks could deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples if doing so was in line with their religious beliefs.
“The bottom line is somebody can walk in and get a marriage license if they’re entitled to a marriage license”, he said.
By Thursday afternoon, the couple was still unable to obtain a marriage license. But a woman named Virginia in the clerk’s office “told them she could not accept that form”.
“[An assistant deputy clerk], whose voice Jim recognized from their phone calls, again told them that the office would not issue them a marriage license, this time explaining it was because their office did not have the proper forms”.
According to the lawsuit, on Thursday the couple went to the clerk’s office and “produced a copy of the revised application for marriage license, promulgated by the state and available to county clerks, and asked if they could use it to apply”.
“It’s a shame that they needed to hire lawyers and file a lawsuit to make that happen”, Soifer said in a statement.
“Nothing can serve the public interest more than for this court to issue an order admonishing the defendant that public officials who have a duty to uphold the Constitution, and in fact have sworn to do so, cannot frivolously choose to ignore the Supreme Court of the United States and create their own ‘Rule of Law, ‘” the lawsuit stated. “I think as long as people get licenses then it doesn’t particularly matter who issues them”.
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Lang has not responded to a request for comment.
