Since 2019, Texas Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley has been fighting the State Commission on Judicial Conduct over her refusal to perform same-sex marriages. Now, wealthy and influential Texas conservatives are claiming the recent Supreme Court ruling, that a website designer 's religious beliefs allow her to deny wedding sites to same-sex couples, grant Hensley the right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.
From The Texas Tribune:
After Hensley was warned by the judicial conduct commission, she filed a lawsuit claiming the investigation and warning “substantially burdened the free exercise of her religion, with no compelling justification.” She seeks damages of $10,000. She has been represented by the First Liberty Institute, a high-profile religious liberty legal group based in Plano. The legal group also has strong ties to suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
You know who else the group has strong ties to? Board members Tim Dunn and Kenneth Blackwell. Dunn is known for using hardball tactics and his billionaire's bucks to make the Republican party more Christian. Blackwell is a fellow at the anti-gay hate group, the Family Research Council, where he holds the Orwellian title of “Senior Fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance.”
Although Hensley’s lawsuit was previously dismissed, she appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, which has now agreed to hear arguments on whether the case should go forward. Her latest brief argues the recent Supreme Court decision bolsters her case.
Actually, it shouldn’t. The Tribune spoke with a number of legal experts who distinguished the two cases: The Supreme Court ruled on a case involving a private business, not a government employee flouting the law of the land while acting in an official capacity.
But will that really matter? Dale Carpenter, chair of constitutional law at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, told The Tribune this is probably the first of a “slew” of cases attempting to use religion to expand the grounds for when LGBTQ+ people can be denied services.
In other words, even if Hensley loses, there will be plenty of other cases backed by groups like First Liberty, willing and financially able to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in their quest to further roll back LGBTQ+ rights. Ditto for civil rights, now that the Court has abolished affirmative action for colleges, I’m sorry to say.
