Maggie Ellis, the incoming chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court wants to get rid of the religious exemption for judges performing weddings.
The current policy allows judges to opt out of performing same-sex weddings based on deeply held religious beliefs. Ellis would like to change the policy giving judges the choice of performing all marriages or performing none.
To change the policy, she’ll need agreement from not just the three Democrats who will join the court in January, but also from some of her new Republican colleagues.
The Texas Code of Judicial Conduct currently reads, “It is not a violation of these canons for a judge to publicly refrain from performing a wedding ceremony based upon a sincerely held religious belief.”
— David Taffet