Gay marriage: And now Texas

It was probably only a matter of time, but a federal judge in San Antonio has said that the Abandoned Pointy Object State's gay marriage ban is unconstitutional.

U.S. Judge Orlando Garcia issued an injunction barring Texas from enforcing a law and constitutional amendment that prohibit same-sex couples from marrying and ban the state from recognizing same-sex marriages that were legally performed in other states.

There will be no rush to the altar in Texas, however. Garcia stayed his ruling, delaying its implementation while Texas officials appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The real "proof is in the pudding," not just for Texas but as a thermometer for where higher courts stand, will be what the Fifth Circuit says on appeal.

Because Greg Abbott WILL appeal this one, if anything.

That said, maybe not in Texas, but nationally, Greg Abbott would be in the minority.

Meanwhile, Rick Perry has already spoken:

"Texans spoke loud and clear by overwhelmingly voting to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman in our Constitution, and it is not the role of the federal government to overturn the will of our citizens. The 10th Amendment guarantees Texas voters the freedom to make these decisions, and this is yet another attempt to achieve via the courts what couldn’t be achieved at the ballot box. We will continue to fight for the rights of Texans to self-determine the laws of our state."

Did he ask every Texas Secretary of State if they allegedly agreed? Oh, the days of a decade ago.

As for people in opposition?

If you don't like gay marriage, then don't marry a gay person. Marriage is a civil matter, period. No gay marriage law or court ruling threatens any conservative church or religious denomination that refuses to have religious ceremonies for gays.

At the same time, you religiously liberal types? Don't try to tell me the Bible says nothing condemnatory about gay sexual relationships. I've already shot that down and thoroughly. 

If  you want to go to Cathedral of Hope, or even a liberal mainline Protestant church, or the Unitarians, that support gay marriage, fine. But don't claim that even a liberal reading of the bible does. Be honest that you've moved beyond a figurative interpretation to simply ignoring some parts of the bible. Every church, and every Christian, does already anyway.

Witness the classical Christian doctrine of "ceremonial law" as an excuse for Christians to eat bacon and lobster, banned in the Old Testament. Or, Paul himself ignoring the stipulation on kosher slaughter of animals, given to Noah before there were "Jews," and ignoring James at the same time in so doing.

You can be like Paul, or Joseph Smith, and simply say you, or your church, has had a new revelation.

Ditto goes for atheists, whether Gnus, Faitheists, Atheist Nones like me or whatever. Don't try to claim the bible says nothing derogatory about gay sexuality when it clearly does!

If the above blog post hasn't indicated that I am an independent thinking iconoclast of sorts, I don't know what would!