Last Friday’s Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges raised some new legal questions, but it answered one resoundingly: States must license and recognize same-sex marriages. Strange, then, that some are still trying to keep courthouse doors closed to gay and lesbian couples: Officials in Louisiana and Texas have advised court clerks that they may ignore the watershed decision if they have religious objections. These politicians should change course, and quickly.
Most of the 13 states that did not allow same-sex marriages at the time of Friday’s decision accepted the holding. Some governors celebrated it. More deplored it. Still, all but Louisiana and Texas have announced their full compliance, letting licenses get signed and knots get tied. Louisiana and Texas, however, have grasped at one last straw of resistance under the false banner of religious liberty. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, all Republicans, have released statements asserting that clerks with what Jindal calls “moral objections” to same-sex marriage will not have to go against their beliefs by issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Freedom of religion is and always has been essential to a working democracy. In the wake of Friday’s decision, religious figures still may choose not to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies at their places of worship. But political figures, from presidents to governors to court clerks, are different. In their capacity as government officials, they do not represent themselves— they represent the government. And with Friday’s decision, the federal, local and state position on same-sex marriage became unambiguous.
The many governors and attorneys general who have said that they will honor Friday’s decision even though they disagree with it deserve praise not for their views on marriage but for their commitment to the rule of law. In the coming months, some may fight for a constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage. That’s a bad idea, but at least it is one that operates within the confines of our legal and political system.
Politicians such as Paxton, Abbott and Jindal challenge this system with what amounts to an endorsement of lawbreaking. By circumventing the court’s decision, they ignore a governing truth: Upholding the law, whether written by the legislature or handed down from the courts, is not optional for a government employee. It comes with the job.
The above editorial appeared in Wednesday’s Washington Post.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
