Because the law is optional in Texas.
Anyone with an even half-functioning brain needs to GTFO of Texas. Let them marinade in their own ruin. Same with Florida.
not an option for people already in poverty / on the line. trust me I agree with the sentiment, it’s been a shithole since W was gov, but over the last 20 years, ho lee fuck texas, did you drive right into authoritarianism on some fucking hot wheels.
hot wheels
Well, that is the governor’s nickname after all.
Fuck Christianity. We all have an obligation to stand up to Christians wherever they start trying to spread their bullshit, even when it appears innocuous. The harmless proselytizing of the 2000s is what lays the groundwork for this. No more tolerance for Christians.
so, as somebody who hasn’t dealt with marriage legally, I have to ask: does this matter specifically as it pertains to the people getting married?
isn’t common-law a thing? why would you care if a government that doesn’t respect you says you are married or not?*
like, what is the actual difference in how you are treated if you are legally married or not? having dealt with common law in Ontario a little bit, no organization cared about legal marital status. I imagine one big area this could affect things is kids, but I’m not sure how — after all, people get divorced or have kids without being married now, so what’s the difference?
I’m genuinely curious how this actually affects people’s lives.
I am not interested in discussing how this is obviously a disgusting policy and my opinion is that judges who refuse to marry same-sex couples should be removed from their position (forcibly if need be)
*one obvious issue is that if they won’t marry you, somebody sure as fuck might not respect common law status, but that’s my question - who might not respect that? insurance shouldn’t care, right? but actually, yeah, I could see spousal benefits not being acknowledged…
Marriage makes locktight a lot of “privileges” that matter. Your “roommate” of several years can be denied a place at your bedside when you or the child you are raising together are dying. In regards to kids a lot of joint non-married/divorced mixed sex custody is held on the name placed on birth certificates… but same sex couples will have only one name on that certificate. Marriage is super important in a queer context for making sure you are able to participate in your childrens lives.
In the same way a lack of formal marriage can make your next of kin parents who do not “agree with your lifestyle” make critical health decisions on your behalf. They can stick your partner in hellish limbo spaces with banks if you die and you didn’t make a will leaving you without support of pre existing programs or survivor benefits. A bunch of legal doors can close meaning you are more easily separated from your nearest and dearest when traveling, emigrating, interfacing with the criminal justice and court system. Queer marriage is a legal sheild that protects the pair of you in many ways more than straight couples because it stops a lot of institutional bias that dismisses your relationship as potentially not relevant to the authorities who gatekeep access.
being able to inherit your partners’ property for one example. family cohesion for another (texas may not recognize anyone not married as a parent).
It affects taxes, survivorship, power of attorney and healthcare proxy, property separation at divorce, all sorts of things. Common law only kicks in after 7 years and there are requirements on it, you can’t just start filing that way because you feel like you want to. It’s not fun hoping your SO doesn’t get in a car accident, because that’s the last time you might see them.
okay that’s very different to here, common law here is much earlier and it happens (at least for taxes) whether you want it to or not after that time period. although you can of course not file together, until they catch you I guess.
everything I dealt with for death and healthcare, nobody gave a shit about seeing a marriage certificate, we just put each other’s names down and that was that. never had any issues. never had the talk with a lawyer about POA etc as I did not update that during the relationship.
the idea that an insurance company or something could choose to refuse to acknowledge your gay partner is scary, though. I can see why not having legal proof would be a huge risk.
Common law marriage also can be a problem in probate. When I lived in Texas I got married specifically because we were worried about my husband’s estranged family contesting our joint property if he were to pass. Or contesting our PoA in the case of medical decisions.
yeah, I have heard that even in clearly defined wills/POAs, there’s still room for contest, so this is more evidence to support
Texas… The One Star State?
On a scale of ten.
A judge shouldn’t be letting their personal beliefs affect their job.
But then this is America after all. Land of the free etc etc
Up next:
- Judges no longer required to marry interracial couples.
- Judges no longer required to marry women pregnant out of wedlock.
- Judges no longer required to marry Muslims, Jews, or athiests.
- Judges no longer required to marry divorced persons.
Take your pick. This is what happens when government steps outside of contract law, and into endorsement of religious beliefs.
Best case scenario, government gets out of the marriage business entirely.
Gotta have a government-recognized binding contract so your spouse can make legal decisions for you. Call it whatever you want (marriage cert, domestic partner) but it has to be the same for all people under the law.
This is part of what the fight for marriage equality was all about. Spouses were unable to see their partners in the hospital, or get custody of children, or inherit, etc. etc. Some people tried to draw up legal agreements, but they ran into obstacles with other family members taking them to court. Remember, “Separate, but equal is inherently unequal.”
I feel like that’s kind of the point they’re making
When you tie so many of those things to marriage, you’ve created an inherent inequality between married people and unmarried people.
Let the idea of “marriage” be up to you, your spouse(s) and whatever god(s) you think may exist.
And let people sort all the rest of it out for themselves.
For example
You can have your spouse and kids covered under your health insurance that you have through work. You don’t necessarily need to live together or even be on good speaking terms as long as you have that piece of paper that says you’re married.
So why shouldn’t you be able to share those benefits with someone else of your choosing? Maybe you’re single and would like to make sure that your best friend and their kids who you see all the time and think of each other as family can go see the doctor when they need to. You probably have a closer relationship with them than someone with an estranged wife and kids they never talk to, why shouldn’t you be able to add them onto your health insurance?
I’ve been making this argument for years. Gay marriage rights were always missing the mark.
It’s a partnership, like partners at a law firm. Doesn’t need to be any different.
This was one of the provisions in the RFMA, the same act liberals cheered for when it passed as if it were something good. This will then trickle down to court clerks about to refuse a license because of personal beliefs
If it trickles down then its their slop. Never the cream.
Texas is the twilight zone of the United States.
The only people who like it there are the ones who don’t know anything else, and the businessmen taking them for a ride.
Texastan, with laws that more and more make them look closer to Afghanistan.
Because the law is optional in Texas.
I’m guessing the entire point is to goad someone into suing so it makes its way to SCOTUS and becomes optional or worse nationwide.
Bingo
Shithole state
Guess what, fuckface, MY religion fucking hates Trump, Vance, and all of his asshole cronies.
Guess they can’t be in office anymore.
Better yet, this religion could easily hate Trump, Vance, and the assorted boils on the ass of life who make up this administration based solely on the teachings of Christ.
If Christ was alive now he would fucking hate these so called Christians for what they are, and they would hate him back for being a brown socialist.
Boy those guys really didn’t like it when people were saying Texas was turning purple.
Uh, yes, they are.
Texas may have passed some crybaby bigotry law, but the federal mandate stands, you hateful fuckbags.
See you in court.
Sadly, getting sued is exactly what these hate-filled pieces of shit want. They want it to go to SCOTUS, which will merrily say, “fuck precedent, let’s make the gays stop marrying. Get back in the closet!”
Yeah, I know.
But I still defend the Oxford comma, so I guess it’s more about the principle of the thing rather than any practical purpose.
When the world gets fucked, you get to survive on the other side according to your own “style”. Cuz, really, who the fuck is gonna stop you?
Certainly not the strippers, JFK and Stalin.
Court. You’re cute. What court?
Don’t tread on me?
How DARE they Discriminate against Christians!
Oh it’s NOT against Christians NEVERMIND!
