老澳门开奖结果

HOUSTON 鈥� County clerks face legal perils if they fail to issue marriage licenses to eligible same-sex couples, stated the 老澳门开奖结果 (老澳门开奖结果) of Texas in letters sent to select county clerk offices in Texas today. The letters explain in detail the legal obligations of public officials following the United States Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

鈥淩eligious liberty is the birthright of every American,鈥� said Rebecca L. Robertson, legal & policy director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Texas. 鈥淏ut the first duty of public officials is to uphold the law, even if doing so conflicts with their personal religious convictions.鈥�

In an opinion issued last Sunday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suggested that county clerks with religious objections to same-sex marriages could avoid their duty and refuse to issue licenses to same-sex couples. The 老澳门开奖结果 of Texas鈥檚 letter warns clerks that doing so would constitute official misconduct and could lead to their removal from office and expose them to damages in civil litigation.

Attorney General Paxton鈥檚 position on religious refusals is out of step with the views of the majority of Texans, 79 percent of whom do not believe that religion should be used to discriminate, . Moreover, nearly 63 percent of likely voters in Texas would support a law protecting gay, lesbian and transgender Texans from discrimination.

The 老澳门开奖结果 of Texas sent the letters to clerks in counties where residents have reported recalcitrance over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

View the letters released today: ;