KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — The Kaufman County Clerk’s Office will await guidance from the Texas Attorney General’s Office before issuing same-sex marriage licenses following a 5-4 Supreme Court decision striking down a ban on their issuance, according to Kaufman County Clerk Laura Hughes.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — The Kaufman County Clerk’s Office will await guidance from the Texas Attorney General’s Office before issuing same-sex marriage licenses following a 5-4 Supreme Court decision striking down a ban on their issuance, according to Kaufman County Clerk Laura Hughes.
Hughes also says the clerk’s office is awaiting new forms from the Department of State Health Services Bureau of Vital Statistics before issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
Once given the “green light” from the Attorney General’s Office and the proper forms, Hughes says her office is prepared to begin issuing licenses. The county’s digital records system is able to process same-sex marriage licenses, she said.
The clerk’s office received six or seven phone calls inquiring about same-sex marriage licenses but it was unclear if the calls were media-related or interested parties, stated Hughes.
In response to the ruling earlier today, Governor Greg Abbott issued a memo to all state agency heads directing them to “respect and preserve Texans religious liberties and First Amendment rights.”
“Texans of all faiths must be absolutely secure in the knowledge that their religious freedom is beyond the reach of government,” stated Abbott. “Renewing and reinforcing that promise is all the more important in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.”
“The government must never pressure a person to abandon or violate his or her sincerely held religious beliefs regarding a topic such as marriage,” he stated. “That sort of religious coercion will never be a ‘compelling governmental interest,’ and it will never be ‘the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.’”
Governor Abbott went on to say that, “as government officials, we have a constitutional duty to preserve, protect, and defend the religious liberty of every Texan.”
The Governor concluded by writing that this order “applies to any agency decision, including but not limited to granting or denying benefits, managing agency employees, entering or enforcing agency contracts, licensing and permitting decisions, or enforcing state laws and regulations.”