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August 6, 2010

Same-sex marriage law nullification a concern

State official considers the future of a constitutional amendment he authored five years ago

Rich Flowers The Athens Review

Athens — A federal court judge’s decision to nullify a California vote outlawing same-sex marriage has Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples concerned about the future of a constitutional amendment he authored five years ago.

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, Wednesday, declared that the ban on gay marriage violated due process and equal protection as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

The decision overruled the results of California Proposition 8 which voters in the Golden State favored with 52 percent of the vote in.

Staples, of Palestine, quickly issued a statement in response to the ruling.

“In 2005, I authored the state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Texas. At the ballot box, 76 percent of Texas voters statewide supported it. The federal court ruling from California against a state’s right to define marriage is an assault on both traditional family values and states’ rights.”

Staples was state senator from the 3rd District, which includes Henderson County, when the amendment was passed. The language that appeared on the ballot provided that “marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman, and prohibiting this state, or a political subdivision of this state, from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”

Voters in Henderson County favored the amendment by 9,310 votes to 1,293. The 87.7 percent approval in Henderson County did not reach the 90.55 percent that favored the bill in Anderson County. Staples’ home county voted 6,137 to 640 in favor of the amendment.

The question helped generate an unusually high turnout for a constitutional amendment election with more than 17 percent coming out statewide. Henderson County, which also had a jail bond issue on the ballot, had a 21.7-percent turnout.

Staples hopes Texas will be able to stave off any efforts to overturn the state’s defense of marriage amendment.

“I will vigorously encourage our Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to intervene in defense of traditional marriage and states’ rights,” Staples said.

Of the state’s 254 counties, only Travis County opposed the amendment, by a vote of 54,246 in favor and 81,170 against. More than 25 percent of Travis County voters cast ballots.

The following is a list of how the vote went in other selected counties.

• Cherokee — 5,329 to 541   

• Dallas —144,559 to 72,973   

• Ellis —13,632 to 1,730   

• Kaufman —7,535 to 939   

• Navarro —5,276 to 604   

• Smith— 22,357 to 2,559   

• Van Zandt — 7,189 to 663

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