Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to “void” and nullify the state’s only same-sex marriage, of a couple dealing with a spouse’s cancer.
Ken Paxton is preparing to have Thursday’s marriage of a same-sex couple, Suzanne Bryant and Sarah Goodfriend, rendered legally null and void, despite the fact that the couple was allowed to wed because Goodfriend is suffering from ovarian cancer.
“Activist judges don’t change Texas law and we will continue to aggressively defend the laws of our state and will ensure that any licenses issued contrary to law are invalid,” a statement on Paxton’s Attorney General website reads. It then points to Suzanne Bryant and Sarah Goodfriend’s marriage, adding, “the Attorney General is also seeking to void the marriage license issued due to the erroneous judicial order.”
On Thursday, in response to a county judge ordering a county clerk to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple, Paxton filed an emergency motion with the state Supreme Court, requesting it block all future marriages of same-sex couples. The Court complied.
UPDATE: Breaking: ‘Harm Is Imminent’ – Texas Goes To State Supreme Court To Void Lesbians’ Marriage
“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 Thursday 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.”
Paxton’s spokesperson, the AP reports, says he will file additional paperwork today “that explains why the order and resulting marriage license are void.”
Paxton was elected Texas Attorney General in November. The 52-year old Republican spent 12 years as a Texas state lawmaker and is a charter member of his Dallas-area megachurch.
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Image of Ken Paxton by The Texas Tribune via Flickr and a CC License