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Would Texas AG have also defended his state’s ban on interracial marriage?

Would Texas AG have also defended his state’s ban on interracial marriage?
Greg Abbott
Greg Abbott

AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who has led his state’s defense of its same-sex marriage ban, has repeatedly said his role is to defend state laws.

So the question was posed, would Abbott have also fought to defend the old Texas law banning interracial marriages?

According to the Dallas Morning News, Abbott seemed to lean towards the answer, “yes.”

“And all I can do is deal with the issues that are before me,” Abbott said. “The job of an attorney general is to represent and defend in court the laws of their client, which is the state Legislature, unless and until a court strikes it down.”

He is defending the state ban on same-sex marriages, saying the Legislature and later the voters said marriage is between one man and one woman.

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Abbott, who is currently running for Governor of Texas, said his job as attorney general is not to impose his belief system in place of what the Legislature has decreed.

Texas’ same-sex marriage ban was struck down by a federal judge last February, but the ruling has been on hold pending appeal.

In recent months, Abbott has filed briefs in the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit defending the ban, saying it reduces out-of-wedlock births and that it best supports children.

In a gubernatorial debate against Democratic challenger Wendy Davis in Dallas last month, Abbott said he opposes same-sex marriage because he’s been married to his wife for more than 33 years.

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