The Attorney General of Texas is insisting a same-sex couple married today is not.Â
Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton acted quickly this morning, after a county judge ordered a county clerk to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple, after another county judge struck down the state marriage ban. The couple were married immediately. Paxton went straight to the State Supreme Court to ask for a stay of any future same-sex marriages, which he received.Â
But Paxton went one step further.
He has taken the unusual position to “rule” himself on the validity of the marriage license, and thus, the marriage, of Suzanne Bryant and Sarah Goodfriend, who are the first and only same-sex couple to ever marry in the Lone Star State.
“The same-sex marriage license issued by the Travis County Clerk is void, just as any license issued in violation of state law would be,” Paxton said today in a statement. “I will continue to defend the will of the people of Texas, who have defined marriage as between one man and one woman, against any judicial activism or overreach.”
UPDATE:Â Texas AG: I Am ‘Seeking To Void’ Marriage Of Same-Sex Couple Despite One Spouse’s Cancer
The KVUE news report above was published before Paxton’s statement, though it may be for a court to decide.
Responses on Twitter were less than supportive of the Attorney General:
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Image:Â Nicole Chavez/Twitter