Homosexuality is morally protected behavior, judge rules in striking down Texas marriage amendment
SAN ANTONIO, TX , February 26, 2014 – A federal judge ruled today that a Texas law and subsequent constitutional amendment protecting marriage as the union of a man and woman violates the U.S. Constitution , which upholds “the moral and sexual choices of homosexuals.” U.S. District Judge for Western Texas Orlando Luis Garcia said the laws had no “rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose” but simply reflected the bigotry of the citizens of Texas. “[U.S.] Supreme Court precedent prohibits states from passing legislation born out of animosity against homosexuals, has extended constitutional protection to the moral and sexual choices of homosexuals, and prohibits the federal government from treating state-sanctioned opposite-sex marriages and same-sex marriages differently,” he wrote in his decision invalidating the amendment, as well as a 2003 law. Some 76 percent of Texas voters supported Proposition 2 in 2005, despite being outspent by more than a quarter of