Texas Counties Holding Out on Marriage Equality in Texas

Recently posted on the Austin Chronicle site, Mary Tuna authored an article entitled Local Advocates Fight for Marriage Equality in Texas.  In this article, she illustrates that not all counties in Texas have fully adopted their requirement to issue marriage licenses to same-sex unions. 

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling was historical and quite clear.  All citizens in the United States will not be prohibited from marriage in all fifty states.  However, since marriage licenses are issued by county clerks, there are individuals involved that are allowing their personal bias influence to influence this process. 
                                                                
For example, Hood County Clerk Katie Lang refused to issue a license to a same-sex couple applying.  They were told they did not have the proper documentation despite having a revised application.  The office refused to accept their application and instructed them to leave the office.  Furthermore, the clerk's office had local law enforcement "stand guard" to presumably prevent similar couples from entering.  When attorneys became involved, the clerks' office was terribly offensive to the couple and still refused to issue their license to marry.   Eventually, despite the County Clerk Lang's personal objections, the same-sex couple was finally issued their license after filing a federal lawsuit. 

Other counties that are currently not compliant with this new law, according to this article, include Irion, Hamilton, Loving, Roberts and Hartley counties.   There are 254 counties in the State of Texas.  Most counties have been - or are currently working on - issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.    It is great to see that Texas has shown overall success in this historical change in this arena.  However, it is shameful to see that there are still some people in public office that believe that upholding the law is a personal decision instead of a job requirement.