Republican AG Ken Paxton (left) shaking hands with GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
The great State of Texas has until Aug. 24 to start recognizing same-sex marriages on birth and death certificates, based on an order issued by a federal judge,
reports Alexa Ura.
The guy standing in the way of all that is none other than the state's "top lawyer," Attorney General Ken Paxton, who's not exactly a model citizen himself.
In a court order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — who “is in the unique position to ensure the proper implementation of the law across all state agencies” — must also assure the court that the Department of State Health Services has granted any pending applications from same-sex couples for amended death and birth certificates before that deadline.
This all started because Paxton and his cronies at the Texas State Department of Health
had refused to issue an amended death certificate for James Stone-Hoskins that named his husband, John Stone-Hoskins, as his surviving spouse. John is also
dying of cancer and somehow, Paxton and Health Department officials thought it would be a good idea to deprive Stone-Hoskins of that last bit of human dignity. Until
they faced being held in contempt of court—that's when they unearthed their moral compasses and issued an amended death certificate.
If anyone deserves some karmic retribution, it's Ken Paxton, another fine politician brought to us courtesy of the tea party.