Obergefell v. Hodges is the 2015 case in which America's highest judicial body recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Yet in a crushing decision for liberal, the Texas Supreme Court recently said that judges and justices of the peace are not obligated to perform them.  

Judicial Code of Conduct changed

According to The Hill, that announcement came in the form of a change that the justices made last week to the Judicial Code of Conduct.

It came in the form of a comment which read, "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."

The comment was added after the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit asked the Texas Supreme Court to clarify the state's Judicial Code of Conduct.

The request came about as a result of a lawsuit that was filed in 2020 by Jack County Judge Brian Umphress, who argued that officiating same-sex weddings violated his religious beliefs.

Disciplinary threat sparks lawsuit

Umphress pointed to the case of McLennon County Justice of the Peace Diane Hensley, who received a warning from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after she refused to perform a same-sex wedding.

A complaint submitted by Umphress' attorneys asserted that he "faithfully applies" Obergefell's holding and applies the law impartially to all who appear in his court.

"Judge Umphress, however, is engaged in numerous extra-judicial activities that evidence disapproval of homosexual behavior, same-sex marriage, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell, and all of these activities are exposing him to discipline under the commission’s current interpretation of Canon 4A(1)," it noted.

"Judge Umphress, for example, is member and supporter of Christian Missions Church in Jacksboro, a Bible-believing church that adheres to longstanding Christian teaching that marriage exists only between one man and one woman, and that homosexual conduct of any sort is immoral and contrary to Holy Scripture," the complaint stressed.

Texas ACLU says change "really disappointing"

It further maintained that Umphress was thus in a similar position to Hensley and that subjecting him to discipline would violate his First Amendment rights.

"The court should therefore enter a declaratory judgment that nothing in Obergefell or the U.S. Constitution requires state-licensed officiants -- either clergy or judges -- to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, even if the officiant chooses to perform opposite-sex weddings," it declared.

The Hill noted how last week's change to the Judicial Code of Conduct was met with opposition from Ash Hall, who serves as a policy and advocacy strategist for Texas ACLU.

"It’s really disappointing," Hall was quoted as saying. "To be a judge is to be a public servant. Offering to do marriages for the general public, but then turning around and saying, ‘Unless that couple is a LGBTQAI+ couple,’ that’s discrimination."