The United States Supreme Court has begun undermining marriage equality, just two years after it became the law of the land.
In deciding not to take up Pidgeon v. Turner, the court has said same-sex married couples are not de facto entitled to benefits.
The ruling by the Texas Supreme Court sided with Jack Pidgeon and Larry Hicks, who sued the City of Houston, and then mayor Annise Parker. The suit came in response to Parker extending benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees.
The decision to not take up the case by the U.S. Supreme Court, doing so without comment, is especially troubling considering it is about to hear a so-called “religious freedom” case involving a Colorado baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.
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If the court rules in favor of the baker, Jack Phillips, it could set another precedent of granting those with anti-LGBTQ views a license to discriminate.
“With all eyes on tomorrow’s oral arguments in the Masterpiece Cakeshop religious exemptions case, the Supreme Court has just let an alarming ruling by the Texas Supreme Court stand which plainly undercuts the rights of married same-sex couples,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, in a statement. “Today’s abnegation by the nation’s highest court opens the door for an onslaught of challenges to the rights of LGBTQ people at every step.”
