Plano attorney Mark Phariss, who in 2013 was a plaintiff in the successful Texas marriage equality lawsuit, announced his candidacy for Texas Senate District 8, which covers portions of Collin and Dallas counties. The District 8 seat has been held by Republican Van Taylor who is vacating the office to run for Congress. Phariss will…
Texas Conservatives Are Still Fighting Marriage Equality
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. On Wednesday, March 1, the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments over a lawsuit that not only targets the rights of married gay couples in the state but also seeks to blunt the impact of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that granted marriage equality nationwide in the…
Activists Denounce Lawsuit that Seeks to Block Benefits to Married Same-Sex Couples in Texas
Texas LGBT activists have filed amicus briefs in a case pending before the Texas Supreme Court (Pidgeon v. Harris) where the City of Houston’s ability to provide spousal benefits to married same-sex couples is being challenged. The case, brought against the City of Houston by anti-LGBT lobbyists Jonathan Saenz and Jared Woodfill, would specifically block…
Gay couple in federal suit will return to SA for marriage license
Two years ago on October 3, 2013, Vic Holmes and Mark Pharris went to the Bexar County Clerk’s office in San Antonio, applied for a marriage license and were turned down. “We don’t do that in Texas,” they were told. However, on Friday, September 25 the two men, who now live in Plano, will return…
5th Circuit winds up same-sex marriage hearings
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans held center stage today while it heard appeals of same-sex marriage cases from Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. The three appeals were heard by Judge Jerry E. Smith (a Reagan appointee), James E. Graves (an Obama appointee) and Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham (another Regan…
Texas marriage equality fight heads to New Orleans
On January 9, the plaintiffs in the Texas marriage equality lawsuit will head to New Orleans where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit will hear the state’s appeal of U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia’s ruling that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The case has reached the 5th Circuit thanks…
2014 in Review: Honorable and Dishonorable Mentions
HONORABLE MENTIONS Leading the Fight for Equality: The Texas Marriage Team On January 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans will hear the State of Texas’ appeal of U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia’s ruling that the state’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. This case would never have reached the…
Garcia denies motion to lift stay on Texas marriage ban
With one month left before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans takes up the constitutionality of Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia has denied a motion to lift the stay on his ruling that struck down that ban. “Lifting the stay would not bring finality…
Bexar County Clerk ready to issue licenses if stay lifted on Texas marriage ban
The Texas Observer is reporting that Bexar County Clerk Gerard C. “Gerry” Rickhoff is ready to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples if U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia lifts the stay of his February decision that found the Texas equal marriage ban unconstitutional. On November 24, attorneys with Akin Gump, the law firm representing plaintiffs Vic…
Abbott responds to motion by plaintiffs to lift stay on Texas marriage ban
State Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a response on November 25 to a motion filed by the plaintiffs in the Texas equal marriage case asking Judge Orlando L. Garcia to lift the stay he imposed in February after finding the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. The motion was filed on November 24 by attorneys…