Texas Supreme Court rules that judges can refuse to marry same-sex couples

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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.

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.”

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.

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…

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