Same-sex families and gay-rights groups have filed a petition with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office, requesting requesting that they stop enforcing Texas’ ban on same-sex marriages.
Lauren Zurbrügg, development manager of Equality Texas, was one of those who showed up to drop off the 5,000-signature petition.
“We’re standing here because unfortunately the attorney general’s office has refused to receive hand-delivered mail of any kind, including these signatures, despite that we confirmed with the AG’s office on Friday that we would be able to hand-deliver these signatures,” Zurbrügg said.
The attorney general’s office told the group it only receives mail through common mail carriers like FedEx.
Equality Texas Executive Director Chuck Smith said the people who signed their petition are hoping Abbott will acknowledge that restrictions on marriage that single out gay and lesbian couples are indefensible.
“That our restrictions are unconstitutional, as judge Garcia had ruled, and that it is no longer a worthwhile effort for the state of Texas to spend our tax dollars defending an unconstitutional law,” Smith said.
Monday, July 28, is the deadline for the attorney general office to submit a written appellate brief ahead of oral arguments in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas ban. The case now sits before the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals after the lower court found the ban to be unconstitutional.
