Lone Star Haters Say Issuing Gay Marriage Licenses Will Be a 'Criminal Act'

The bigots on the right
Are looking for a fight
(clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas!

Jonathan Saenz of the conservative organization Texas Values is throwing down a gauntlet to Dallas County Clerk John Warren, threatening that if his office issues marriage licenses no matter how the Supreme Court rules in the marriage equality case, it will be a criminal act.

Saenz's letter comes on the heels of a Dallas Morning News report on Thursday in which County Clerk Warren says that he won't wait for guidance from the state attorney general's office or for revisions to the Texas marriage license application form. That form includes two blanks to be filled in with the names of the marrying couple. One is labeled man, the other woman.

"That'd be something we just scratch through," said Warren.

According to Saenz, Warren's intended course of action is a "criminal offense," which the Supreme Court's ruling won't shield him from "criminal liability."

"The Texas Family Code requires county clerks to 'furnish the application form as prescribed by the bureau of vital statistics,'" Saenz writes. "You have no authority to alter this form, and any county clerk who alters this form before providing it to an applicant commits a criminal offense. It appears that you believe that a Supreme Court decision in favor of redefining marriage would allow you to disregard state law. Instead of taking the law into your own hands, we encourage you to follow the direction and/or recommendations of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on this issue."

According to their website, Texas Values, which is recognized by the SPLC designated anti-gay hate group Family Research Council, has a mission to "preserve and advance a culture of family values in the state of Texas."

Virulently anti-gay, Saenz is no stranger to making outrageous and inflammatory remarks including the claim that gays just want marriage equality to use "as a battering ram against Christians and Christian-owned businesses." He further claimed that people were moving to the Lone Star State because of its marriage ban.

This story is part of our special report: "Courting Equality". Want to read more? Here's the full list.