Texas lawsuits targeting gay marriage, LGBT rights after the fall of Roe vs. Wade

In the wake of the toppling of Roe v. Wade and with Justice Clarence Thomas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit rulings on gay sex and marriage, Texas is the stage for several lawsuits dealing with LGBT rights. Right now, a half dozen cases on everything from insurance coverage for HIV prevention to employment discrimination and same-sex marriage are wending their way through state and federal courts here. Their outcomes could radically alter rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Texas and across the country. The lawsuits all have one thing in common: former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell. Best known as the man behind the state law that allows Texans to file civil lawsuits against people who help pregnant people get abortions, Mitchell opened up a law firm in Austin four years ago with the goal of systematically dismantling decades of court rulings he believes depart from the U.S. Constitution. The Dallas Morning News is tracking these cases that originated in Texas and deal with LGBT rights. Here’s a summary of each case.

Dianne Hensley vs. State Commission on Judicial Conduct (Third Court of Appeals) and Brian Keith Umphress vs. David Hall, et al. (Northern District of Texas). Summary: Both of these cases were brought by Texas officials with the authority to perform weddings but who do not want to offer marriages to same-sex couples because they say it violates their religious beliefs. One case in state court, filed by McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensely, argues that marriage officiants who are government officials should be able to recuse themselves from performing ceremonies for gay couples if the couples have a viable alternative option to be wed. The other case, in federal court and filed by Jack County Judge Brian Keith Umphress, makes a similar argument. But the Umphress case goes further, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court erred when it declared gay marriage bans unconstitutional in 2015. It urges the court to revisit that decision. “There is no constitutional right to same-sex marriage,” the Umphress case reads. “The federal judiciary has no authority to recognize or invent ‘fundamental’ constitutional rights.”