Burnt Orange Report

Gay Marriage in Austin?

By Byron LaMasters

Well, probably not anytime soon, but it's good to see several local officials come out in support of gay marriage. The Austin American Stateman reports:

Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe said that he was not opposed to same-sex marriages and that the Commissioners Court probably would be willing to pass a resolution in favor of them.

"My guess is, they have a fair chance of getting a symbolic gesture," he said. "If they want more, we'll have to find out what our legal authority is."

But Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, whose office issues marriage licenses, said state law prohibits the county from issuing licenses for same-sex marriages.

Commissioners Court resolutions are relatively meaningless, however anytime an elected official publically goes on the record as supporting gay marriage they ought to be commended. If the Commissioners Court has the courage to support a resolution endorsing gay marriage, and the four (of five) Democrats on the court get easily re-elected (as I expect they will), then it will only encourage more elected officials (who may be on the fence now) to come around to publicly supporting gay marriage.