Dallas County JP Bill Metzger
Dallas County Justice of the Peace Bill Metzger, who is refusing to perform same-sex marriages, is also a Dallas County Community College District trustee. Metzger made news a week ago by suddenly deciding his religion prevents him from performing same-sex marriages but allows him to continue to perform opposite-sex marriages.
A judge or justice of the peace in Texas may perform marriages, but is not required to do so. However, a judge that performs weddings may not discriminate against certain couples. Either that judge performs a wedding for any couple who presents themselves in the court with a valid marriage license or for no couple.
Most judges have no problem with that, but it presents a special problem for a justice of the peace. The fee paid to a JP goes right into that official’s pocket. The money JPs make doing weddings on top of their salary paid by the county makes some of them the highest-paid judges in Texas.
So Metzger doesn’t want to give up his extra income, but he wants to retain the right to discriminate.
Metzger is also a DCCCD trustee, as we noted above. As a DCCCD trustee, does he feel he has the right to discriminate against LGBT students, faculty and staff, as well? That’s an important question because DCCCD is the largest college in Texas.
Before a complaint can be filed against JP Metzger for his refusal to perform weddings for same-sex couples, there has to be a couple who has gone to Metzger for a wedding ceremony and been turned away and that has not since been married elsewhere, according to one attorney who asked his name be left off this story. In other words, if you go to Metzger to get married and he says no, then you go to another JP or someone else and get married, then you can’t file a complaint against him. Got it?
If you’re a couple planning to get married, but not in any rush, and if you are willing to go to Metzger for the wedding and, when rejected, follow through by filing a complaint, please contact Dallas Voice first. We’ll refer you to counsel to walk you through the process from marriage license to complaint.
