Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued that the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges – which legalized marriage equality in all 50 states – was “clearly wrong” because it forced states to recognize same-sex marriages.
His statement comes as the Supreme Court curtailed the right to substantive due process in overturning Roe v. Wade, a legal framework that Obergefell was based on. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion in the recent case that the Court should reconsider Obergefell.
“Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation’s history,” Cruz said on his podcast Verdict. “Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We saw states before Obergefell – some states were moving- some states were moving to allow gay marriage, other states were moving to allow civil partnerships. There were different standards that the states were adopting.”
“Had the Court not ruled in Obergefell, the democratic process would have continued to operate,” he continued. “In Obergefell, the Court said, ‘No, we know better than you guys do and now every state must sanction and permit gay marriage.'”
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“I think that decision was clearly wrong when it was decided. It was the Court overreaching.”
Cruz isn’t the only Texas politician arguing that the Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe, should be used to roll back LGBTQ rights. The state’s Republican attorney general Ken Paxton said that he would be willing to argue on behalf of a hypothetical state law that would ban homosexuality if Texas passed one. The Supreme Court ruled that sodomy laws were unconstitutional in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision, another LGBTQ victory that was built on a similar legal framework as Roe.
While Cruz said that some states were moving towards marriage and other towards domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, he didn’t mention all the states that were moving to ban both marriage and domestic partnerships pre-Obergefell, including his state of Texas. The state amended its constitution to ban marriage equality in 2005.
Several cities including Dallas, Houston, and El Paso recognized domestic partnerships or gave benefits to the same-sex partners of city employees, which then-state attorney general Greg Abbott (R) – who is currently the governor of Texas – wrote in a 2013 opinion was illegal.
“A court is likely to conclude that the domestic partnership legal status… is ‘similar to marriage’ and therefore barred” by the state constitution, Abbott wrote at the time.
