This bill, sponsored by almost every Republican state legislator in Texas (Alabama is not the only state that is acting childish right now), would prevent state officials who issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples from being paid, even if they do so under a court order, including the Supreme Court. Having not been voted on by midnight on Thursday, it will now be delayed.
From LGBTQ Nation:
Efforts by Texas Republicans to defy the U.S. Supreme Court if gay marriage is legalized took a major setback Friday when time expired on a bill that would prohibit government employees from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.Here's how the Democratic minority was able to prevent the bill's passage:Republicans had until midnight to pass the measure in the Texas House, which they overwhelmingly control. But the bill never even reached a vote as outnumbered Democrats used stall tactics to keep the bill at the back of the line.
“We’re sending a message to Texas that this is worth fighting for. We’re not in the majority. We don’t control the ship. But we can help to steer it in the right direction,” Democratic state Rep. Celia Israel said.
Outnumbered Democrats bled the clock to midnight. They stalled with lengthy debates over noncontroversial issues and tied up the floor with a no-hope bill to raise the state minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, knowing that Republicans would have sacrifice other legislation to move up the anti-gay marriage measure.This isn't the end of it, though. A delay doesn't mean that its supporters will no longer support it. The delay gives us time to try to persuade them why it's such a horrible bill, which will be made easier by some big companies publicly opposing it. But unless that can be done, I do think it will pass eventually.
I'm still trying to comprehend how anyone can think these efforts are anything but futile. If the legislature does decide to pass this bill, then it will have done nothing more than proudly come out and identify Texas as a bigoted, regressive state, blind to common decency and basic legal principles, and to the wishes of its own citizens, who, from what I can tell, don't want this bill to pass.