Texas Values Files Amicus Brief for Historic Supreme Court Marriage Case
Austin, TX, April 6, 2015 – Friday, Texas Values filed an amicus legal brief with the United States Supreme Court for the historic upcoming marriage case, Obergefell v. Hodges, which will rule on the right of states to define their own marriage laws and could have nationwide implications. The Court will hear oral arguments on April 28th to decide if the states of Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky have the right to define marriage as between one man and one woman. The Texas Values brief addresses why the Court lacks the authority to force same-sex marriage on the States, including Texas, and why such a precedent would be dangerous for many years to come.
The amicus brief states in part: “The decision [of defining marriage]… belongs to the people and their elected representatives… It is not possible to “refute” the belief that the institution of marriage exists primarily to generate positive externalities such as the production of children and the raising of children in stable, committed family structures with both a mother and a father…A federalist solution to the same-sex marriage debate will facilitate national peace and maximize political-preference satisfaction, by allowing both the supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage to vote with their feet and migrate to jurisdictions with more agreeable law…If a right to same-sex marriage can be constitutionalized by judicial decree, then any policy can be constitutionalized through the courts… Court-imposed same-sex marriage will threaten the First Amendment freedoms of persons and institutions that oppose homosexuality and same-sex marriage.”
Jonathan Saenz, President and attorney of Texas Values, stated:
“In this historic hour, the constitutional rights of states to acknowledge that marriage is the union of one man and one woman hangs in the balance. As our brief clearly demonstrates, it is a very dangerous precedent to eliminate the democratic process for deciding public policy and have it replaced by the federal judiciary. If the Roe v. Wade decision taught us anything, it’s that attempts by the Supreme Court to resolve public policy debates will surely fail. Hopefully, the Court has learned its lesson.”
View the Texas Values brief by clicking here.
Texas Values continues to be the leading voice and force in protecting marriage between one man and one woman in Texas. More than 35,000 Texans have signed the Texas Marriage Declaration at texasmarriagedeclaration.com
About Texas Values
Texas Values is a non-profit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org.