GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott agree that not even a lesbian woman with cancer should be able to marry her partner of 30 years.
Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton
rushed Friday to void the state's only same-sex marriage, granted Thursday to a lesbian couple in which one of the spouses has cancer.
[Sarah] Goodfriend, 58, has ovarian cancer. A state district judge raised the "severity and uncertainty" of her condition in granting the women permission to marry, sending the couple scrambling through a Travis County clerk building in case state Republican leaders got wind and intervened.
Don't worry though, Texas, the state Supreme Court shut down same-sex marriages for everyone else immediately, issuing a stay at Ken Paxton's request on two court rulings that declared the Lone Star State's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
But that's not good enough for Ken Paxton. He wants to make certain that Goodfriend and her partner of 30 years, Suzanne Bryant, aren't entitled to any of the federal benefits that flow from marriage, like Social Security survivor benefits or reduced taxes on inheritance or perhaps simply knowing that the law sees you as fully human and worthy of dignity.
Paxton's spokeswoman, Cynthia Meyer, said their office will file additional paperwork with the state Supreme Court on Friday to argue their case.
"Activist judges don't change Texas law and we will continue to aggressively defend the laws of our state," Paxton said in a statement.
Paxton
made good on that promise Friday.
Texas is one of the 13 states that hasn't legalized same-sex marriage. Its 2005 ban was overturned by a federal judge last year, but the judge put the ruling on hold immediately while the state appealed the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reaffirmed his support for the ban this week.
The court clerk who issued the marriage license—and possesses both heart and soul—noted the tenuous circumstances of Goodfriend and Bryant.
"We are all waiting for a final decision on marriage equality," said Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir, whose office issued the marriage license. "However, this couple may not get the chance to hear the outcome of this issue because of one person's health."
Meanwhile, Ken Paxton will one day be able to look into his grandchildren's eyes and say, "I didn't give a darn whom I hurt." Congrats.