July 29, 2014 2:19 PM

Abbott submits argument on same-sex marriage to Fifth Circuit

“The case is not about whether Texas should recognize same-sex marriage. It is about the question of who decides

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s brief on same-sex marriage before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals invokes state rights with a strong dash of social conservatism that traditional marriage is the best way to raise children.

Abbott opens his brief with a description of the 2005 vote that amended the Texas Constitution to describe marriage as the union of one man and one woman. He goes on to say that marriage is “rooted in the basic reality of human life: procreation requires a male and a female.” Opposite-sex marriages increase the likelihood of children being born into healthy, stable relationships, Abbott argues.

Still, Abbott’s more frequent argument is that the right to define marriage belongs to Texas and that the denial of same-sex marriage does not violate due process rights. To allow the courts to reverse a state decision only reinforces the idea that the courts can take away the constitutional rights of the legislative process.

By Kimberly Reeves