Texas Supreme Court Rules Judges Can Refuse Same-Sex Marriages

Texas judges who refuse to perform same-sex marriages based on "sincerely held religious beliefs" do not violate the state's rules on judicial impartiality and won't be sanctioned for it, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

The court's decision, which was added to the state's judicial conduct code on October 24 effective immediately, follows years of debate in Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages in the country in 2015.

In 2019, Waco Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley was accused of violating the canon for refusing to marry a same-sex couple, citing her Christian beliefs. At the time, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a public warning against Hensley, rejecting the idea that she should be entitled to "religious exemption," as she claimed.