Texas Judge Sanctioned For Refusing to Conduct Same-Sex Marriages

Waco judge Dianne Hensley who repeatedly declined to carry out weddings for same-sex couples has been publicly sanctioned by the Texas’ judicial commission for violating a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which stated that same-sex individuals are legally permitted to wed throughout the country.

Hensley told the Waco Tribune in 2017 that she began declining to conduct all weddings following the ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges. She later changed her stance and began wedding heterosexual couples. “My conscious was bothering me,” Hensley said.

Between 2015 and 2017, Hensley conducted about 70 weddings – all heterosexual – and cited her right to this practice as a “religious exemption” related to her Christian faith. Same-sex couples requesting Hensley to conduct their weddings would be notified that she had declined, with a document reading, “I’m sorry, but Judge Hensley has a sincerely held religious belief as a Christian, and will not be able to perform any same-sex weddings.”

The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct disagreed with her reasoning. An official sanction was levied against Hensley on Nov. 12, though it was made public only recently.

She has 30 days to appeal the sanction, which has virtually no ability to restrict her ability to continue working as a judge and conducting weddings for heterosexual couples only. Discussing the sanction, Hensley told the Austin Statesman that she thought her solution to her objections to same-sex marriage was reasonable, adding that “I have, do and always will, follow the law.”

Other justices in Waco who object to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriage have since declined to conduct all weddings.

A spokesperson for the progressive group Texas Freedom Network said Hensley’s actions and justifications are problematic: “Religious freedom is a fundamental American value, but it’s not a license to discriminate. Elected officials shouldn’t be allowed to use their religious beliefs as an excuse to pick and choose which taxpayers they would serve.” The group told the Statesman they will consider legal action if Hensley continues to decline to wed same-sex couples despite the sanction.

Conversely, Jonathan Saenz, the president of Texas Values, a conservative group, believes the sanction was a violation of Hensley’s rights. “This is a clear example of putting politics above universal principles of freedom,” he said.