DALLAS, TX – An openly-gay Texas jurist refuses to perform legal marriages in her jurisdiction until same-sex marriage is legal for all Lone Star State citizens. Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker says to do otherwise would be “oxymoronic.” Parker, who was elected in 2010 and is the first lesbian to be elected as a county judge in Dallas, said at the Feb. 21 meeting of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas: “I use it as my opportunity to give them a lesson about marriage inequality in this state because I feel like I have to tell them why I’m turning them away.”
Parker said that when she is asked to perform a wedding ceremony, she is apologetic. “I’m sorry,” she tells couples. “I don’t perform marriage ceremonies because we are in a state that does not have marriage equality, and until it does, I am not going to partially apply the law to one group of people that doesn’t apply to another group of people.”
“It’s kind of oxymoronic for me to perform ceremonies that can’t be performed for me, so I’m not going to do it,” Parker added. “I do not perform [marriages] because it is not an equal application of the law. Period.” Parker said she passes marriage ceremonies on to other judges.
In a statement last week, Parker clarified her position and her responsibilities to her jurisdiction. “I faithfully and fully perform all of my duties as the Presiding Judge of the 116th Civil District Court, where it is my honor to serve the citizens of Dallas County and the parties who have matters before the Court,” she wrote. “Performing marriage ceremonies is not a duty that I have as the Presiding Judge of a civil district court. It is a right and privilege invested in me under the Family Code. I choose not to exercise it, as many other Judges do not exercise it. Because it is not part of our duties, some Judges even charge a fee to perform the ceremonies. I do not, and would never, impede any person’s right to get married.”