Does texas allow gay marriage

Cleopatra De Leon marriage and Nicole Dimetman sued to force Texas to recognise their marriage in another state. A US judge has ruled Texas' ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the latest in a series of decisions overturning such state laws. Judge Orlando Garcia ruled in favour of two gay couples who challenged the ban, but will allow the state to continue enforcing it pending an appeal.

Analysts say the ruling makes it increasingly likely the gay of such bans will reach the Supreme Court. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott vowed to appeal against the decision. Texas is one of the most conservative states in the US and has banned gay unions in its constitution since and by statute since In his ruling, Judge Garcia of the federal Western District of Texas wrote that by denying same-sex couples the right to marry, the state "[demeans] their dignity for no legitimate reason".

Same-sex marriage is legal in 17 states and Washington DC but banned by constitutional amendment in 29 states. All but eight of those state allows have been challenged in court, according to NBC News. Similar court decisions in Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia have handed victories to gay-rights activists by declaring those bans unconstitutional.

The rulings come after the US Supreme Court ruled in the federal government texas recognise gay unions ratified in states where they are already legal. America's highest court has put the Utah ruling on hold until an appeals court can consider the issue. Judge Garcia said he would respect that order and allow Texas to continue enforcing the ban.

On Wednesday, one of the couples who challenged the Texas ban said in a statement: "Having been together almost 17 years, we look forward to the day when we can get married and when all gay Texans enjoy equal rights to marry as well. The doe couple, Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman, married in Massachusetts and sued to force Texas to recognise their marriage.

The former Texas legislator who drafted the same-sex marriage ban denounced the ruling as "judicial activism". How tide turned on same-sex marriage. The gay people against gay marriage. Where is it illegal to be gay?

How is same-sex marriage in the US changing?

Holder defends same-sex marriage. Texas Attorney General. Image source, AP. More on this story. Related internet links.