Texas Senate considers bills that would protect religious freedom of county clerks

The Texas Senate is considering two bills that are aimed at protecting county clerks who have religious objections to same-sex marriage.

Senate Bill 522, proposed in January, would allow the clerks to decline issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples if doing so violates their religious beliefs, The Stream reported. The clerks are required to refer the couples to another county official such as deputy clerk, judge or magistrate. They can refer the couples to another county if there are no other officials available.

The other measure, Senate Bill 911, would remove the county clerks' name from the marriage license.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage nearly two years ago, Texas county clerk Katie Lang of Hood County refused to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple. She eventually issued the license after she was threatened with a lawsuit. However, the lawsuit went forward, and Lang settled for $43,000.

In Kentucky, county clerk Kim Davis was briefly jailed in 2015 when she declined to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The case was resolved in 2016 when the state passed a law that removed the clerks' names from the marriage licenses.

Some LGBT groups have considered SB 911 as an acceptable compromise, but they oppose SB 522.

The Texas Freedom Network and the American Civil Liberties Union are working against SB 522, dismissing the claims of conservatives who contend that the measure is about religious liberty.

"This bill makes a mockery of religious freedom by allowing public officials to discriminate against virtually anyone who fails to meet their personal moral standards," said Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller in a statement.

"That could include same-sex couples but also people who have been previously divorced, couples who have lived together outside of marriage, interfaith couples and many others," she added.

Bella Rubio, a former clerk who retired in 2016 after 22 years at her job, testified in favor of the legislation.

"I was very concerned that my conscience rights and sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage would not be protected as there was nothing specific in law," the former county clerk said.

"If SB 522 would have been the law at the time I was serving as a county clerk and district clerk, I would not have resigned," she added.

Joyce Lewis-Kugle of Rusk County, Texas, who retired in 2015 after gay marriage became legal, issued a similar testimony.

The Texas Legislature's online records indicated that SB 522 is on the Senate intent calendar as of Wednesday, but SB 911 is not yet on the calendar.

SB 911, filed in February, has been approved by the Senate committee on State Affairs on April 3 by a vote of 9–0.