Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed the paperwork for an appeal of this week’s federal ruling that labeled Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Abbott said ultimately the Supreme Court will have to decide the issue.
While campaigning in San Antonio, Abbott said this is an issue that has good people on both sides. He filed for an appeal of a federal district judge’s ruling. Abbott was asked if wanted to expedite a ruling from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to get ahead of Utah's appeal, which is going through the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colo.
"The 10th Circuit will not dictate what the 5th Circuit does or any other circuit," Abbott said. "I think its pretty clear to see there will be multiple rulings by multiple circuits that will force this issue to go back to the Supreme Court. We all think this is an issue for the Supreme Court."
One of Abbott’s main arguments for the ban has to do with consensus and states rights.
Rebecca Robertson is the legal and policy director with the ACLU of Texas and said majority rule in this case isn’t the end of this issue.
"There are certain basic fundamental rights that our constitution guarantees to every resident of America equally and we don’t put those rights to a vote no matter what and the right to choose who we marry is not one we put to a vote," Robertson said.
Robertson likens this case to Loving v. Virginia, where the Supreme Court overturned the state law that banned interracial marriages. The court said it was unconstitutional to say some marriages are okay and others not.
Both sides of the Texas case expect to have a briefing from the US 5th Circuit by May, the earliest it could be before the Supreme Court would be October.
