The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that state judges may decline to perform weddings, including same-sex marriages, based on religious belief. Critics say the move could erode public confidence in the impartiality of the courts and chip away at the practical reach of marriage equality in Texas.
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The order, issued Friday, adds a single but sweeping line to Canon 4 of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct: “It is not a violation of these canons for a judge to publicly refrain from performing a wedding ceremony based upon a sincerely held religious belief.”
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The amendment, signed by all nine justices of the all-Republican court, took immediate effect. The justices ordered it to be published in the Texas Bar Journal and the Texas Register.
The change follows years of quiet tension over the obligations of judges in a state where local officials and clerks have occasionally resisted same-sex marriage rulings. Dallas Fox affiliate KDFW reports that the issue gained traction after a Waco judge was publicly admonished in 2019 for refusing to perform same-sex marriages while continuing to officiate heterosexual ceremonies. That judge argued the state’s code of conduct did not protect her religious beliefs. The new language now explicitly does.
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For civil rights advocates, the decision represents a troubling precedent. It suggests that judges who swear to uphold the Constitution and apply the law equally may selectively refuse to serve certain citizens based on personal faith. Some advocates worry that allowing public officials to opt out of duties central to equality undermines the guarantees of Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made marriage equality the law of the land.
Josh Rovenger, legal director at GLAD Law, a Boston-based LGBTQ+ legal advocacy group, told The Advocate that while the Texas court’s move is significant, it reflects a broader legal trend rather than a singular break. He noted that in Obergefell and later cases such as Masterpiece Cakeshop and 303 Creative, the U.S. Supreme Court has sought to balance “the dignity of both same-sex couples and individuals with strong religious beliefs.” Those decisions, he said, suggest that the Court has tried to create frameworks in which marriage equality and religious liberty can coexist. From GLAD Law’s perspective, Rovenger noted, the two principles are not inherently incompatible.
Republicans in Texas have gone to great lengths to undo LGBTQ+ rights in the state. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in September barring transgender people from using bathrooms in state facilities that are in line with their gender identity. Also in September, a professor was fired, and the president of Texas A&M University resigned amid controversy over curriculum materials on LGBTQ+ topics.