Texas Republican: Supreme Court will ‘destroy the foundation of family life’ over same-sex marriage
A former Texas state lawmaker has claimed that the Supreme Court could “destroy the foundation of family life” if it rules that same-sex couples have the right to marry.
Former Republican lawmaker Warren Chisum, who composed the 2005 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Texas, made the comments this week.
The US Supreme Court is expected to announce its ruling shortly on the marriage rights of same-sex couples throughout the country. With the outcome looking to be a close 5-4 vote in favour of legalisation, the same-sex marriage bans in Texas and 13 other states are now at risk of being struck down as unconstitutional.
Chisum told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: “It’s a sad day when the court decides to meddle into religious affairs and destroy marriage, destroy the foundation of family life.”
The Texas government has stood against the distribution of marriage licenses to couples of the same gender since 1997 – but equality could finally come to the state depending on the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling.
Before the court has even ruled, a number of Texas church officials have addressed the possibility of the Supreme Court decision leaning in favour of same-sex marriage
In an open letter to the nine Supreme Court Justices, dozens of religious leaders claimed that even if the bans are declared unconstitutional, they will continue to fight same-sex weddings.
Among other state legislators, Republican John Smithee also voiced his disapproval of the possible Supreme Court decision, focusing his support on Chisum’s constitutional amendment.
Smithee told the Avalanche-Journal: “In my district, it was about 85 percent in favour of it.
“To think that five Justices in the Supreme Court can undo in a 5-4 decision what 85 percent of the people voted for, it is bothersome in the democracy that we live in.”
While Texas Republican leaders insist same-sex marriage is a matter for states, only 57 out of 299 Republicans in Congress endorsed the court brief against same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile, 211 out of 232 Democratic House members and Senators signed their own brief in support of equal marriage rights. The Obama administration is known for its similar stance, calling for the annulment of same-sex marriage bans.
Even some of the biggest US companies, such as Apple, Google, Twitter and Facebook, have united in a joint legal brief to oppose the marriage bans. Microsoft, eBay and Amazon signed the agreement as well.
