Jack Evans, left, and George Harris wait in line for their marriage license on Marriage Equality Day. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)
A Dallas County judge concerned with the Dobbs decision is holding a day-long marriage event in his court
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
After reading the U.S Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and which Justice Clarence Thomas used as a chance to propose overturning the court’s 2015 decision on marriage equality, Dallas County District Judge Martin Hoffman felt frustrated that, as a trial judge, he couldn’t do anything about it. But he decided to he would do something, and that something was give people the opportunity to get married on Oct. 7.
In overturning Roe v. Wade, the Dobbs decision allows states to prohibit abortion even in cases of rape and incest and even in some cases where an abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother.
But it wasn’t just that, Hoffman said: “I became concerned when I read Clarence Thomas’s footnote in the Dobbs case.”
In that pages-long footnote, or concurring opinion, Thomas wrote that just as the U.S. Constitution doesn’t grant the right to an abortion, other previous decisions that were incorrectly decided should be re-examined. He enumerated exactly which cases he meant: Griswold v. Connecticut, which granted married couples the right to access birth control; Lawrence v. Texas, which invalidated state sodomy laws, and Obergefell v. Hodges, which granted marriage equality.
Hoffman pointed out Thomas’ hypocrisy in omitting Loving v. Virginia, which granted interracial couples the right to marry. That decision used the same bit of constitutional law as the others listed, but Thomas, himself, is in an interracial marriage.
Hoffman, who’s been a judge for 16 years, mentioned that he was in office the day Obergefell was decided. And it was, he said, “an amazing day.”
Along with Judge Tonya Parker and most of the Dallas County judges, Hoffman set aside part of his day on June 25, 2015, to marry couples who had rushed to the County Records Building to get a license.
“There were so many wonderful stories about people who had to wait so long to get married,” he recalled. That included the first couple to marry in Dallas County — Jack Evans and George Harris, who had been together 54 years by that historic morning.
Before deciding to offer to marry couples in his courtroom at no charge on Friday, Oct. 7, Hoffman discussed the idea with Parker. Then he approached Kristy Noble, chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, and Stonewall Democrats, a group that he’s been a member of since the beginning of his political career.
Hoffman said the idea of marrying couples as a way to stand up to Dobbs came to him after speaking to someone whom he used to work with. “She and her partner have been together for many years,” he said.
“She wasn’t a big believer in marriage until she read Dobbs.”
Hoffman explained why he was so passionate about marriage: “Marriage protects both of you, your future, your kids. The right to marry is so fundamental.”
He said the COVID pandemic made it even clearer how important it is to allow people to marry, when only family members could visit someone in the hospital and make life-changing medical decisions.
To make the day special, Hoffman said he hopes a photographer will be there, and a reception for all couples who tied the knot will be held that evening from 5:30-7 p.m. at Alexandre’s on Cedar Springs Road.
Alexandre’s owner Lee Daugherty said the evening should be a fun reception of food, drinks and cake “presented in the disorganized way Democrats do things.”
He called the evening a preview to the bar’s current expansion with the addition of food as well as additional bar space prior to its grand re-re-opening. But he also called it “an important event in our history as a community.”
When the Supreme Court issued its Obergefell ruling, “the wind went out of our sails,” Daugherty said.
“But in this country, the struggle continues.”
Victories in court don’t mean much in the long term, without concurrent legislation, he said.
“The world is having a rebirth of anti-LGBT and far right extremism,” Daugherty continued, pointing to the Italian election this past week that will bring a party descended from Mussolini to power.
“And we have a sold-off court,” he added.
Daugherty warned moderate liberals, including many members of the LGBTQ community, to care about more than their own rights. “If we don’t care about trans attacks, you’re next,” he said. “Everyone has a term on the chopping block — marriage, adoption, medical treatment.”
By medical treatment, Daugherty was referring to a recent court decision that removed PrEP from drugs required to be included in insurance drug plans, based on an employer’s religious beliefs. PrEP prevents the spread of HIV.
But, on a lighter note, Daugherty said he was proud to host the marriage recepetion next Friday and thanked Judge Hoffman for his part in the event.
As for Hoffman, he said, “My hope is Clarence Thomas is wrong and this [marriage] is something that will be around for a long, long time. But I’m worried about it. The people on the Supreme Court right now don’t seem to care what the majority of people think.”
He noted the marriage event is open to everyone, including all same-sex, nonbinary and opposite sex couples.
To get married in Hoffman’s court on Oct. 7, you must apply for a marriage license. That can be done online. Once you’ve completed the application, you’ll be provided an order number that you’ll give to the deputy clerk with acceptable forms of identification, which includes everything from a driver’s license issued anywhere in the U.S. or Canada to a gun permit.
Apply for a marriage license at dallastx.eforms.kofile.com/48113/mlpublicformal.
Judge Hoffman’s court is on the 5th floor of the George Allen Courts Building on Commerce Street.
