The Texas Supreme Court has ruled against government benefits for gay married couples. The decision overturns a lower court decision and sets the stage for a new trial in the Lone Star State. Conservatives are hoping the case will help chip away at the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v Hodges decision that legalized gay marriage. Their chief argument in the Texas case: states should decide on the issue of spousal benefits because Obergefell didn’t declare them to be a fundamental right of marriage.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Jared Woodfill called the decision a victory for states’ rights and religious liberty. “The court has limited Obergefell in terms of how broadly it should be interpreted,” Woodfill told the Houston Chronicle, adding, “It recognized that there’s an argument to be made at the trial court that taxpayer dollars should not be used in violation of one’s deeply held religious beliefs.” READ MORE


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