A Texas judge has ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in a case where one of the plaintiffs has died.
In 2008 Sonemaly Phrasavath and Stella Powell held a commitment ceremony in their home state of Texas. Five years later, in October of 2013, Powell received a diagnosis of colon cancer. Less than one year later, she died. The couple had been together eight years, but Texas’ marriage ban precluded Phrasavath from even the most basic of comforts and rights any different-sex spouse who lost a loved one would be granted without question.
“In the days following Stella’s passing, Sonemaly was told that she could not collect her love’s ashes but [would] have to go through a member of Stella’s family to receive it, and was not entitled to all of the estate that she had built with Stella over the course of their marriage,” a post at Texas for Marriage reads. “Additionally, the funeral home denied her request to obtain a certified copy of Stella’s death certificate, stating that the law doesn’t consider her ‘legal’ kin.”
Today, Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman ruled in the couple’s favor, finding that the Texas marriage ban is unconstitutional.
For now, same-sex couples in the county are not able to marry.
“I am scrambling, trying to find out if there is anything I can do,” Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir told the Statesman. “Right now, I think it’s no, but we are checking.†The paper reports that DeBeauvoir “in the past has said that she is ready to begin distributing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as soon as allowed by the courts.”
The ruling is here, via Equality Case Files.
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