Friday, April 25, 2014

Texas State Judge Rules Texas Ban on Same Sex Marriage Unconstitutional

Judge Barbara Nellermoe

First a federal court struck down Texas' ban on same sex marriage and not a Texas state court judge has followed suit and ruled the same - bans on same sex marriage are unconstitutional.. One can just imagine the additional round of spittle flecked convulsions that are sweeping the "godly folk."  Judge Barbara Nellermoe had best brace herself for lots of hate mail and an attempt to unseat her the next time she stands for reelection (Texas elects its judges).  Gay Star News has details.  Here are highlights:
A judge ruled this week that former couple Allison Leona Flood Lesh and Kristi Lyn Lesh can proceed with a divorce and child custody case. They were married in Washington, D.C., in August 2010 and live in San Antonio.

The custody case is complicated by the fact that Flood Lesh is not a biological or adoptive parent to the child. Unlike in a heterosexual marriage, there is not the same presumption of parenthood that a husband has when his wife gives birth.

Judge Barbara Nellermoe wrote: 'By denying their parents the right to marry, Texas has created a suspect classification of children who are denied equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment.'

In paving the way for the divorce and custody case to proceed, Nellermoe cited a recent federal court ruling - currently under appeal - that declared the state's marriage ban unconstitutional.

Nellermoe wrote that 'in a well-reasoned opinion by Judge Orlando Garcia, the federal district court found that a state cannot do what the federal government cannot — that is, it cannot discriminate against same-sex couples.'
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/texas-state-judge-rules-lesbian-couple-can-proceed-divorce-and-custody-battle240414#sthash.pQaxoNCZ.dpuf
Thankfully, more and more members of the bench are recognizing that bans on same sex marriage are based on one thing and one thing alone: punishing gays for not living in accordance with Christofascist religious beliefs. 

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