In this April 28, 2015 file photo, demonstrators stand in front of a rainbow flag of the Supreme Court in Washington, as the court was set to hear historic arguments in cases that made same-sex marriage the law of the land. Two Texas judges say their religious beliefs allow them to decline to officiate at same-sex marriages. Two Texas judges say their religious beliefs give them the right to refuse to perform wedding services for same-sex couples, and they’re taking their arguments to court. They are suing a state judicial oversight agency for determining that a refusal to officiate at such weddings violates a rule on impartiality. It’s the latest battle in a heated war between religious freedom and civil rights in the U.S. that is being waged in courts across the nation. Brian Keith Umphress, the county judge of Jack County, about an hour northwest of Fort Worth, filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The Republican claims the U.S. Constitution does not require him to officiate at same-sex weddings, even if he chooses to do so for heterosexual couples. Umphress says the First Amendment protects his decision due to his religious […]
