{"id":2351,"date":"2026-06-19T18:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T18:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2351"},"modified":"2026-06-19T18:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T18:18:12","slug":"texas-judge-cant-be-punished-for-refusing-to-officiate-same-sex-weddings-court-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2351","title":{"rendered":"Texas judge can\u2019t be punished for refusing to officiate same-sex weddings, court rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>A district court has sided with a Texas judge who recused herself from performing same-sex weddings on account of her Christian faith.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2349\">Toddler injured in crocodile enclosure at U.K. zoo; man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The decision resolved a lawsuit that Judge Dianne Hensley filed against the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after it disciplined her for choosing not to officiate same-sex marriages.<\/p>\n<p>The final judgment issued by a state district court permanently forbids the commission from \u201cinvestigating, sanctioning, or disciplining Judge Hensley over her refusal to officiate at same sex weddings on account of her religious beliefs, regardless of whether Judge Hensley continues to perform marriages for opposite-sex couples.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It also awards Judge Hensley $10,000 in compensatory damages under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act and requires the commission to pay $630,000 for her legal fees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJudge Hensley always adhered to the law and the legal guidance provided by the Attorney General of Texas,\u201d Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, a Christian legal organization that represented her, said in a statement. \u00a0\u201cWe are grateful that this case has concluded and that Judge Hensley was vindicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her case stems back to the Supreme Court\u2019s decision that legalized gay marriage in 2015, prompting her to stop performing marriages due to her religious opposition to such matrimony and later performing marriages for only opposite-sex couples.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2347\">Bad Bunny, big bucks: Singer becomes first Latin music performer to surpass $1 billion in revenue<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The commission then sanctioned Judge Hensley for the referral solution \u2014 her list of local wedding officiants who would perform same-sex ceremonies at her price \u2014 and accused her of violating aspects of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Hensley sued the commission and others for \u201cviolating her religious liberty\u201d under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.<\/p>\n<p>Last October, the Texas Supreme Court amended the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct in a different case to clarify that judges cannot face discipline or sanctions from the commission for declining to perform wedding ceremonies based on a \u201csincerely held religious belief.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Judge Hensley filed a federal lawsuit in December seeking to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision that recognized same-sex marriage nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2345\">Geena Davis baffled by Netflix canceling \u2018The Boroughs\u2019 despite its Top 10 ranking<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A district court has sided with a Texas judge who recused herself from performing same-sex weddings on account of her Christian faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Texas judge can\u2019t be punished for refusing to officiate same-sex weddings, court rules - 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