FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 26, 2014
CONTACT: Tom Hargis, Director of Communications, ACLU of Texas, 832.291.4776; [email protected]
San Antonio – A federal judge ruled today that Texas’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. In the preliminary ruling, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States V. Windsor, which found the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. Edie Windsor, the plaintiff in that case, was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Statement from Rebecca L. Robertson, legal and policy director of the ACLU of Texas:
“This ruling is one more step toward the inevitable end of official discrimination by the state of Texas. Gay and lesbian couples want the same thing as other loving couples -- to stand before family and friends and declare their lifetime commitment to each other, and to enjoy the same recognition and protection for their families that only marriage can bring. We applaud the judge’s preliminary ruling, but we also recognize that there is a great deal of hard work to do to bring full equality to every Texan.”
The court’s ruling in the Texas case is stayed pending appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The practical effect of the stay is that gay and lesbian couples remain unable to marry legally in Texas for now.
