Texas Supreme Court: State Judges Can Refuse To Officiate Same-Sex Weddings Over “Religious Belief”

Houston Public Media reports:

Texas judges who decline to perform a wedding ceremony based on a “sincerely held religious belief” do not violate the state’s rules on judicial impartiality, according to a comment the Texas Supreme Court added to the state’s judicial conduct code Friday.

The high court’s comment on Oct. 24, effective immediately, could have statewide implications for gay marriage and potentially play a role in a federal lawsuit attempting to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage.

The rule change appears to answer a question of state law that the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals posed to the Texas Supreme Court in April, which was prompted by a lawsuit challenging the State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s now-withdrawn sanction of a Waco judge who refused to marry gay couples while continuing to marry straight couples. The plaintiff in that suit, a North Texas county judge, sued saying he was afraid he could face the same punishment.

Read the full article. My 2023 report on Waco judge Diana Hensley [photo above], who started this all, is here.

Judges who decline to perform weddings based on their religious beliefs won’t be violating state rules on judicial impartiality, the Texas Supreme Court said in a comment added to the state judicial conduct code Friday.https://t.co/ofdS7t4ggM

— Houston Public Media (@HoustonPubMedia) October 28, 2025

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