Gay Couple Granted Marriage License After Texas County Clerk Refused To Issue

Helen Barnes holds a sign of support for gay marriage outside of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, in New Orleans. Opponents and supporters of gay marriage argued their sides before the 5th... Helen Barnes holds a sign of support for gay marriage outside of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, in New Orleans. Opponents and supporters of gay marriage argued their sides before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, on gay marriage bans in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi . (AP Photo/Stacy Revere) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

DALLAS (AP) — A gay couple has received a marriage license after filing a federal lawsuit against a North Texas county clerk who previously cited her religious opposition to gay marriage in denying the license.

Jim Cato and Joe Stapleton filed the lawsuit Monday against Hood County Clerk Katie Lang, saying they repeatedly had been turned away when trying to obtain a license last week.

The couple was quickly granted a license later in the morning in Granbury, the county seat. The city is southwest of Fort Worth.

The couple’s attorney, Jan Soifer, released a statement saying they haven’t withdrawn the lawsuit and are seeking an agreement from Lang that her office will issue licenses to same-sex couples without delay. They’re also seeking attorney fees.

Lang was not immediately available for comment Monday.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Why feed the agenda canard? Just get the license…and get married. Why fuck with clerks and jerks…bakers and shakers…it isn’t going to help. Just get the fucking license…get the fucking cake and leave all the assholes in your wake. Move on.

  2. Ireland legalized same sex marriage and got a gorgeous rainbow over Dublin:

    Texas azzholes’ keep trying to stonewall, and they get record floods:

    TAKE A HINT, TEXAS…TAKE A HINT! lmao

  3. County clerks who refuse to carry out their legally-required duties should be pursued until they either start doing their jobs or resign. The fact that this couple finally managed to get their license is a good thing, but shouldn’t be seen as the end of the story.

  4. This is not about an agenda, this is about their right to receive benefits from the state to which they are constitutionally entitled. The Clerk is required to issue the license to have the marriage recognized by the state. I agree that the baker issue is a distraction, but this is fundamental to their exercise of their rights.

    I wish that the clerk had to pay the attorneys’ fees out of her personal bank account as it is her personal beliefs that are driving this whole exercise.

  5. It should be if you want this issue to die. It was improbable anyone was going to get a license for same sex marriage in Texas…now they are. So let the issue die down and accept your victory. There is no reason to destroy the life of a baker that didn’t want to bake you a cake. There is no reason to destroy the life of a government functionary that can’t see beyond her Pastors bullshit. Let it Be.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

77 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for fgs Avatar for dwward Avatar for blue_bear Avatar for matt_smith Avatar for richardinjax Avatar for afblac Avatar for tflick Avatar for imkmu3 Avatar for commiedearest Avatar for jimtoday Avatar for fourlegsgood Avatar for gtomkins Avatar for mrcomments Avatar for sniffit Avatar for whiteboar Avatar for sherlock1 Avatar for joelopines Avatar for boidster Avatar for ottnott Avatar for jafafahots Avatar for misterneutron Avatar for wangjexi Avatar for briannaamore

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: