Texas AG Greg Abbott gives same-sex families ‘another symbolic slap in the face’

Children of same-sex couples pulled a wagon into the Texas attorney general’s office Monday carrying 5,200 petitions asking AG Greg Abbott to stop defending the state’s bans on same-sex marriage in court.

The delivery was arranged by Equality Texas on the same day Abbott’s office has a brief due to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court, appealing a federal district judge’s decision striking down Texas’ same-sex marriage bans. (As of this writing, the brief hadn’t been posted online.)

Equality Texas officials said they prearranged the petition delivery last week. However, when the children arrived with their parents and Equality Texas representatives in tow this morning, they were turned away. Representatives from the AG’s office reportedly told them the office doesn’t accept hand deliveries.

“I’m disappointed with the rejection,” Equality Texas Executive Director Chuck Smith told Austin’s Fox 7. “I think it is yet another symbolic slap in the face for Texas parents and families and their children. The adults who brought their children today to deliver these petitions — the rejection they got today is the same as the rejection they get every day of the attorney general in the state of Texas not recognizing their families.”

More at http://www.lonestarq.com/greg-abbot/ .

Related story:
Texas AG Greg Abbott appeals federal judge’s ruling striking down state’s same-sex marriage bans
http://www.lonestarq.com/gregabbottappeal/

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is hoping the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will buck a trend of 29 consecutive state and federal rulings in favor of same-sex marriage.

Abbott’s office filed its initial brief Monday appealing U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia’s February decision, which found that Texas’ marriage bans violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

Abbott’s appeal was filed on the same day that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court struck down Virginia’s ban as unconstitutional, becoming the third federal appeals court to rule in favor of marriage equality. In its 42-page brief filed Monday, Abbott’s office argues that the issue should be settled by voters and state legislatures, not the courts.

“This case is not about whether Texas should recognize same-sex marriage. It is about the question of who decides,” the brief states. “There are rational, thoughtful arguments on both sides of the political debate about whether to legalize same-sex marriage. That debate should be allowed to continue among voters and within democratically elected legislatures. Under the United States Constitution, the decision belongs to the people of Texas and their elected representatives, not the federal courts.”

More at the link posted.