Just the Most Spiteful, Indefensible Garbage

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement yesterday in which he argued that county clerks in Texas can refuse to issue marriage licenses if they have a religious objection to same-sex marriage, despite last week's Supreme Court decision, to which he referred as a "fabricated" constitutional right granted by an "activist" court.

His statement opens thus:

Friday, the United States Supreme Court again ignored the text and spirit of the Constitution to manufacture a right that simply does not exist. In so doing, the Court weakened itself and weakened the rule of law, but did nothing to weaken our resolve to protect religious liberty and return to democratic self-government in the face of judicial activists attempting to tell us how to live.

Without a trace of irony. The legalization of same-sex marriage doesn't tell anyone how they must live. On the other hand, the denial of same-sex marriage sure does.

He says a whole lot of crap about religious objections, as though there aren't county clerks with religious objections to divorce who nonetheless issue marriage licenses for second marriages all the fucking time, and then concludes with this trash wreck:

Texas must speak with one voice against this lawlessness, and act on multiple levels to further protect religious liberties for all Texans, but most immediately do anything we can to help our County Clerks and public officials who now are forced with defending their religious beliefs against the Court's ruling.

For all Texans. Except those who do not practice religion at all, or who practice a religion with no bias against same-sex marriage, or who practice a religion in which practicing such bias would be viewed as an unacceptable cruelty to one's fellow humans. Fuck all those people.

Per SCOTUSblog [H/T to Scott Madin], Paxton has 25 days "to seek rehearing from the Supreme Court. After that, there theoretically needs to be a lawsuit every time Texas unconstitutionally denies a marriage license. But since 'massive resistance' ended, the Nation has counted on State actors to 'get the message' from Supreme Court decisions. One expects that to happen here quite soon, too."

The Supreme Court is not likely (to put it politely) to grant a hearing, which requires one of the Justices in the majority to accept a petition for a rehearing of their ruling.

Paxton knows this. He's just delaying the inevitable about of sheer spite.