07-15-2015, 10:13 AM
(07-14-2015, 11:49 PM)bfine32 Wrote: According to the OP. He is not required to perform the ceremony.
This is correct. I was thinking of the court clerk who is required to issue a license. But this guys is a Justice of the Peace who has the authority, but is not required, to perform marriages.
However, he is just like any other business. He is not required to provide services to everyone, but he also can not refuse services to people in protected classes. So it all goes back to if homosexuals are a protected class in Texas. I am pretty sure they are not. And he was very careful to avoid saying that his refusal was based on any religious belief because that is illegal under the Federal Civil Rights Act.
This type of discrimination will continue for a few years, but eventually homosexuals will be protected classes in all states.
