Texas Judge who refused to officiate same-sex weddings sues to overturn marriage equality

"Dianne Hensley filed the suit against the State Commission on Judicial Conduct on Friday, claiming that the 2015 ruling that legalized marriage equality nationally, Obergefell v. Hodges, is somehow unconstitutional. The lawsuit states, via The Texas Tribune, that "the federal judiciary has no authority to recognize or invent 'fundamental' constitutional rights." Hensley's lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell, acknowledged in the filing that federal courts do not have the authority to overturn marriage equality,"

"Hensley stopped officiating weddings altogether in 2015 in response to Obergefell, as she said performing same-sex marriages would be incompatible with her conservative Christian faith. She resumed performing marriages the next year for opposite-sex couples, while giving same-sex couples who came to her office a list of alternative officiants, some that were cities away."

"Hensley then filed a lawsuit against the commission, accusing it of violating her rights under Texas's religious freedom law, and again stopped performing marriages. A trial court dismissed her suit, and the Texas Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in 2022, finding that the commission was acting within its rights and was shielded from lawsuits by sovereign immunity."

A Texas judge who refused to perform weddings for same-sex couples filed a lawsuit seeking federal courts to overturn the 2015 Obergefell ruling and to challenge the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The judge claimed the federal judiciary lacks authority to recognize or invent 'fundamental' constitutional rights. Her lawyer acknowledged federal courts cannot overturn marriage equality but hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would hear the case. The judge stopped officiating weddings in 2015, resumed for opposite-sex couples in 2016, and provided same-sex couples with lists of alternative officiants. The Commission investigated, reprimanded her, and warned about potential impartiality. Her subsequent lawsuit was dismissed and the appeals court upheld dismissal on sovereign immunity grounds.

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