She has been arguing that, as a Christian, she should not have to follow state rules about judicial impartiality.

A Texas judge is asking a federal court to overturn marriage equality in the U.S., arguing in a lawsuit filed on Friday that marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional because it was legalized in a decision that “subordinat[ed] state law to the policy preferences of unelected judges.”

The case involves Judge Dianne Hensley of Waco, Texas, who has been involved in years of legal proceedings to try to win the right to not perform marriages for same-sex couples while still performing them for opposite-sex couples. She claims that, as a Christian, she should not have to follow state judicial ethics rules about impartiality.

  • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    27 minutes ago

    As a Christian, my worldview is inherently superior and correct in all instances, and anyone trying to tell me otherwise is oppressing me, no matter what harm that may cause to other people.

    Or, more simply: I deserve special rights and privileges.

    These people are just a lot more obvious in their desire for theocracy now, but the whole Seven Mountains Mandate thing has been around for longer than I’ve been alive.

    They just want to be Ya’ll Qaeda.

    • Weydemeyer@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      47 seconds ago

      As a Christian, my worldview is inherently superior and correct in all instances

      I know you are being facetious but there is something called presuppositionalism that is gaining steam in the evangelical / Christian nationalist community right now. For most Christians, they try and “prove” their faith through apologetics or their own (incorrect) interpretations of science and history. Some will skip that and say that whether or not Christianity is true is irrelevant, because there’s a “judeo-christian” foundation to our society, so our government should reflect that.

      Presuppositionalism just says “assume Christianity is true”. Presuppositionalist feel no need to prove Christianity is true or even that governance should be democratic. To them, Christianity’s truth is a given that isn’t up for discussion, so the discussion starts around how to make laws that reflect Christianity i.e. a theocracy.

      Take abortion for example. To a presuppositionalist Christian, they don’t have to provide any sort of secular justification as to why it should be outlawed. It is against God’s will, and our God is the true god, so it should be outlawed. If people vote to legalize it, then they shouldn’t be allowed to vote on it.

      Presuppositionalism is also behind all those theobro fascists shouting “Christ is King!” That is a very specific, presuppositionalist statement. Christ is King over the earth to them; it is an assertion they are making and they don’t care about backing that up; they only care about implementing their King’s will on “His” earth.

  • brown567@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 hour ago

    I misread the title by missing the word “equality” and was intrigued by the idea of a Texas judge calling for the abolishment of marriage XD

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      53 minutes ago

      Alabama tried this back in 2017 with Common Law marriage in response to a number of gay couples attempting to claim it following the 2015 ruling requiring same-sex marriages to be recognized. Now Alabama requires an official court recognition of any marriage. And as a result, a handful of counties have operated in defiance of the Supreme Court by refusing to issue same-sex licenses. Another set have ended the practice of issuing marriage license at all.

      But its not a practical solution, given the amount of legal scholarship surrounding the concept of marriage. Like, marriage and adoption are the two established methods of including two biologically unrelated individuals in the same legal household. There’s no other universal interstate mechanism for doing it.

      Incidentally, one historical method of getting around same-sex marriage restrictions for gay couples was for one partner to legally adopt the other as a child. There’s a whole host of reasons why this isn’t a good legal substitute for marriage.

  • CircaV@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    2 hours ago

    They’re going to strip abortion rights (done), then LGBTQ2A++ (in progress), then interracial marriage. You know it.

  • ameancow@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    2 hours ago

    I don’t think anyone is taking this constant assault step-up as seriously as they should.

    We thought Roe Vs Wade was safe, now nobody even talks about it anymore. Project 2025 outlined all of this and how to accomplish it and so far they’ve been following the playbook to great success.

    And we’re here “LOL AT THE FUNNY LADY.”

    Yah it won’t pass or even be considered. Today.

    But next time someone with more power and influence raises it with a stronger case or argument, most of us will have tuned out as it gains more and more traction. Like they did with everything else so far.

    After same-sex marriage they will go after interracial marriage. I dare some fucker to tell me that’s hyperbolic, I already know the pretense and argument they will use to “ease” in the long dick of dicking americans.

  • Sam_Bass@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    19
    ·
    13 hours ago

    If she feels that religious she should be unbenched and disbarred, as religion is extremely partial and such followers cannot see things outside that lense

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    42
    ·
    15 hours ago

    She claims that, as a Christian, she should not have to follow state judicial ethics rules about impartiality.

    That sounds like she is not qualified to be a judge then. If she’s using her religion to guide her legal decisions, will she also deny a heterosexual couple a divorce because she believes it goes against her interpretation of christianity?

    • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      16 hours ago

      Why doesn’t she get a job at the church if she feels so strongly about it. We don’t need her judging people

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        13 hours ago

        Well, she can judge people, but just in the sense of giving them side-eye; the kind of judging that has no real effect…and she’d have lots of opportunities to do that with the other church ladies.

  • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    55
    ·
    edit-2
    19 hours ago

    If you can’t be impartial then you can’t be a judge. I mean jet pilots can’t wear glasses, librarians can’t be illiterate, dog groomers (reasonably speaking) can’t be allergic, priests can’t have a wife. You don’t get to have a job just because you want the job.

  • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    13 hours ago

    Government should not be involved in marriages.

    These are contracts between citizens. Nothing more. Consenting adults that need a way to manage the outcome if the contract needs to be disolved.

    There is nothing more to do.

    And all citizens are equal, male or female, it doesn’t matter because you cannot discriminate who gets to enter into a contract.

      • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        13 hours ago

        That’s my point. The government manages and arbitrates contracts. Not marriages in the religious sense. And a contract has to apply equally to all citizens.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          50 minutes ago

          Not marriages in the religious sense.

          Governments don’t manage marriages in the religious sense, they manage them in the legal sense. That is, and has always been, the fight wrt same sex marriages.

          And as marriage is the primary way by which two people from different families join together into a new legal family - with a host of legal consequences following that joining of households - you absolutely need marriage overseen by the state, for the same reason you have a host of other legal institutions overseen by the state.

          • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            31 minutes ago

            They shouldn’t though. The only thing they should care about are contracts. You want to get married? Go ahead no one cares. The government shouldn’t care. You want to have a method to divide up property allocate for child support, you get a contract. There is a difference.

            Government should encourage people to enter into a legally binding contract for obvious reasons, but they should not care what religion or what sex the people are. Citizen a forms a contract with b. That is all there should be to it.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              14 minutes ago

              The only thing they should care about are contracts.

              A marriage is a contract.

              The government shouldn’t care.

              As soon as its time to pay taxes, the government cares. When you’re declaring ownership/sale of property, the government needs to determine if the re-titling is legal and has to care. Household accumulation and collection of private debts means the government has to care. Knowing legal residency as a result of marriage is a requirement. Knowing the legal parents/guardians of children is under government purview, as is knowing which school district the children are eligible to attend.

              There’s so many downstream consequences of marriage, I could hardly list them all.

              they should not care what religion or what sex the people are

              Theocratic governments are naturally going to care about the religious inclinations of their residents and the violation of taboos. And Americans need to recognize that we are absolutely living in a theocracy, at least under certain Christian Dominionist state and national bureaucratic leaders.

              “Well, but we should/shouldn’t…” is ultimately a decision left to the voters, and one that can change with every new election cycle. It isn’t a moral imperative that overrides legal authority.

        • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          13 hours ago

          I think that’s how it works now, and has even prior to gay marriage being the law of the land, but the religious busybodies think their particular religion should somehow have a say in what is a government institution (and merely because of cultural inertia, I guess? xtians seem to think they own the very concept of marriage, which is…hilariously provincial, but that’s what xtians seem to excel at).

  • Sharkticon@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    211
    ·
    edit-2
    22 hours ago

    It seems completely logical to me that if a judge claims her Christianity is so vital to her being that she cannot perform duties that don’t align with her Christianity then she cannot give fair and impartial judgments to anybody who is not also a Christian. Anybody of any religion that’s not Christianity in her courtroom should call for her recusal. Anyone not Christian for whom she has made judgment should call for mistrals.

    Not even to mention the fact that can she truly be impartial to other sects of Christianity?

    • YoSoySnekBoi@kbin.earth
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      120
      ·
      23 hours ago

      I think if she wants to argue that Christianity is so central to her being that she cannot make impartial decisions, she should be permanently dismissed, as she is clearly not fit for the position. There are plenty of Christians out there capable of impartiality, she is the problem, not her religious preference.

      • BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        3 hours ago

        More like many of them are capable of feigning impartiality, well at least you have juries. But I’m sure there’s some fucker there as well to stack the decks when needed

      • Sharkticon@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        31
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        22 hours ago

        I’m not entirely sure other Christians are capable of impartiality considering the long long history of Christians getting special treatment in our judicial system. You don’t have to scratch the surface very hard to find a plethora of disgusting rulings that mentioned Christianity as a mitigating circumstance which allowed for lessened penalties.

        • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          3 hours ago

          Yeah. I know Christians who can, but many can’t. Like, how many Christians really understand that the justification to deny Alaskan native sovereignty was that they weren’t Christians? I hold anti Christian sentiments, I’ve seen how they’ve oppressed everyone around them and cried foul at the sort of inconvenience they’d demand other religions experience.

        • YoSoySnekBoi@kbin.earth
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          26
          ·
          22 hours ago

          Oh, don’t get me wrong, the establishment of Christianity in the US is horribly corrupt. I suppose I’m arguing to judge these pieces of shit by their character, not their religion. I’m not even Christian, I just believe it’s dangerous to start applying mass generalizations to any group of people. Religion has no place in justice, either in protecting or hurting someone’s case.

          • Triumph@fedia.io
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            10
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            21 hours ago

            Religious belief is a choice. There’s no problem criticizing people for their choices.

        • MOARbid1@piefed.social
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          12
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          21 hours ago

          At this point, I don’t trust anyone that is religious. It has been proven time and again that they will act in the interest of their god, over the interest of humanity.

        • justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          19
          ·
          21 hours ago

          Prime Minister Paul Martin was excommunicated from his family church when he legalized same sex marriage some 20 years ago.

          He also got the supreme court(of Canada) to rule on it first to head of Stephen Harper and PP(aka Milhouse) inevitable challenge of it.

          Pierre Trudeau(Justin Trudeau’s dad) was a practicing Roman Catholic when as Justice Minister when he legalized homosexuality almost 60 years ago.

          • Arghblarg@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            edit-2
            21 hours ago

            I did not know those facts, thank you. Whatever other flaws Paul Martin may have had, that took some personal conviction which I respect. And very astute of him to head off future challenges in that way.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      13 hours ago

      Given that nearly 1/3 of the population is not even xtian, that’d be pretty wild. And that’s before, as you point out, you start considering other sects.

    • fonix232@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      20
      ·
      22 hours ago

      And any actually faithful Christian should call for her recusal as well, since she’s clearly just using religion to justify her lack of impartiality, since the Bible very specifically states that the rules of God do not override the rules of the land and Christians should follow the Bible without either breaking the local laws or by trying to change them.

      • wheezy@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 hour ago

        A lot of Christians will. Evangelicals though. It’s insane to me how Evangelicals will be the first to judge all Muslims for something like ISIS and then turn around and essentially want “Christian Sharia” in their own town. It’s projection really. They want strict interpretation of religious laws but just for the laws that favor the existing structures of hierarchy.

    • fodor@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      19 hours ago

      Right but if all the judges in the district are Christian, then people are denied services. So she’s gotta be fired. There’s no other option.

  • Bristlecone@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    17 hours ago

    Funny as fuck for her to whinge about unelected judges while she submits this to the supreme Court… And by funny I mean she’s a fucking piece of shit, obviously

  • ProfThadBach@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    19 hours ago

    Jesus fucking Christ. Why can’t Texas be its own country and be the right wing Christo-Fascist hell hole they want to force on the rest of us? Just fucking leave already.

    • Bristlecone@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      edit-2
      17 hours ago

      For real, secede already you worthless rednecks! Let’s make a straight trade for Puerto Rico so we don’t have to change the flags