Texas Clerk Issuing Gay Marriage Licenses In Spite of Her Faith

“Personally, same-sex marriage is a contradiction to my faith and belief that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Denton County Clerk Juli Luke said in a statement Sunday, according to the the Denton Record-Chronicle. “However, first and foremost, I took an oath on my family Bible to uphold the law, and as an elected public official, my personal belief cannot prevent me from issuing the licenses as required.”

Her clerk’s office oversaw its first gay marriage Monday morning, the Denton Record-Chronicle. The couple, Sara Bollinger and Whitney Hennen, received their license a little after 8 a.m.

“It feels pretty incredible. Growing up this didn’t seem like something that was ever going to happen,” Bollinger said.

In his opinion, Paxton said clerks and justices of the peace didn’t have to participate in same-sex marriage depending on the “particular facts of each case,” especially when other authorities were available to officiate the marriages.