Texas judge refuses to perform same-sex marriages. Here’s why she’s suing the state
A judge in Texas is suing after she received a public warning for refusing to officiate same-sex weddings because of her religious beliefs, a lawsuit says.
Since 2016, Dianne Hensley — a justice of the peace in McLennan County — has referred same-sex couples to other officiants because her Christian beliefs preclude her from performing same-sex weddings, according to the lawsuit.
Since then, same-sex couples who want Hensley to perform their ceremony have received a letter stating: “I’m sorry, but Judge Hensley has a sincerely held religious belief as a christian, and will not be able to perform same-sex weddings,” according to the lawsuit.
The document also referred marriage-seeking couples to another judge as well as a local Unitarian Universalist church, the suit says. She began using the referral system in response to the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued Hensley a public warning in November “for casting doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing before her as a judge due to the person’s sexual orientation in violation of Canon 4A(l) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct,” KXXV reported.
The commission became aware of Hensley’s refusals after the Waco Tribune published a story about the referral system in 2017, the warning said.
Now, Hensley is suing the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for allegedly “punishing” her for her religious beliefs, the lawsuit says. It also alleges there had been no public complaints about Hensley’s referral system.
First Liberty Institute, a religious liberty law firm in Plano, is representing Hensley and claims the State Commission on Judicial Conduct violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act by issuing the warning that “substantially burdened the free exercise of her religion, with no compelling justification,” the lawsuit says.
Hensley is suing for $10,000 in damages, costs and attorneys’ fees, all authorized under the act, according to the lawsuit.
She has been a judge in McLennan County, Texas — home to Waco — since 2015.
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Texas judge refuses to perform same-sex marriages. Here’s why she’s suing the state."