On the same day the U.S. Supreme Court took up California’s ban on same-sex marriage, Texas Gov. Rick Perry told the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that both he and the state of Texas still oppose marriage equality:
“In Texas, it is fairly clear about where this state stands on that issue,” Perry said when asked by reporters about the Supreme Court cases.
“As recently as a constitutional amendment that passed – I believe, with 76 percent of the vote. The people of the state of Texas, myself included, believe marriage is between one man and one woman,” Perry said.
Unfortunately for Perry, and as Mother Jones aptly notes, Texas’ marriage amendment passed eight years ago in an off-year election, and it banned not only same-sex marriage, but also civil unions.
Of course, what Perry really means is that a majority of Republican Primary voters in Texas still oppose same-sex marriage, because that’s his political base.
A majority of Americans, however, now support marriage equality, which helps explain why Perry’s anti-gay tactics helped doom his presidential campaign last year.
Furthermore, as the chart above shows, his statements about Texas are rapidly becoming false if not so already.
Numerous polls over the last few years have shown that roughly two-thirds of Texas voters now support either marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples — meaning if it were on the ballot today, the amendment would fail.
So, in the words of the heckler who interrupted Perry during “Texas Faith and Family Day” at the Capitol on Tuesday: “You don’t represent me. 2016 — no way! You’re done here!”
