One of the cases mentioned by Thomas is Lawrence and Texas, which prevents states from banning intimate same-sex relationships. The landmark ruling in 2003 repeal a 1973 Texas law that criminalized domination. But like Roe v. Wade was overturned, Paxton said he would defend the state’s defunct domain law if the Supreme Court heeded Thomas’ comments and ultimately reconsidered. Lawrence.
“I mean, there are all kinds of issues here, but certainly the Supreme Court has stepped in on issues that I don’t think there are any constitutional provisions to deal with,” Paxton said in a statement. The sixth day interview with NewsNation host Leland Vittert. “It’s a legislative issue, and this is one of those issues, and there could be many more. So it will depend on the matter and depend on what state law has regulated at the time. “
Asked if the Texas legislature would pass a similar monopoly law and if Paxton would defend it and take it to the Supreme Court, the Republican attorney general, who is running for office re-elected in November, hinting that he would feel comfortable supporting an outlaw bill intimately. – same-sex relationships.
“Yeah, listen, my job is to uphold state law, and I will continue to do that,” Paxton told Vittert. “That’s my job under the Constitution, and I’m certainly willing and able to do it.”
A spokesperson for Paxton did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Post.
Attorney general’s support for sodomy law comes as Texas is among 13 states have “activation bans”, designed to take effect once Roe was knocked down, that will ban abortion for 30 days. Before the Supreme Court’s decision last week, Texas restricted abortions to the first six weeks of pregnancy, when many people don’t even realize they’re pregnant. Paxton also issued an advisory that prosecutors could pursue criminal cases under a 1925 state law that did not go into effect before the activation moratorium began.
On Tuesday, Judge Christine Weems (D) of Harris County granted temporary ban allows clinics to provide abortion services for at least two weeks without criminal prosecution. Weems ruled that beforeRoe the injunction will be enforced by Paxton and prosecutors will be “inevitable and irreparable” to the provision of abortion services in the critical final weeks, during which safer abortion care remains. available and legal in Texas.”
Follow up on Friday’s culture-shocking comments in Dobbs sues Jackson Women’s Health Foundation, Health advocates, legal experts and Democrats are wondering if the Supreme Court’s conservative majority can overturn other rights in the coming years.
Thomas was aiming Lawrence in an opinion concurring with his conservative colleagues on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. Justice also mentioned Griswold sues Connecticutthe 1965 ruling grants couples the right to purchase and use contraceptives without government restrictions, and Obergefell v. HodgesThe 2015 case legalized marriage equality.
“In future cases, we should revisit all of the basic procedural precedents of this Court, including Griswold, Lawrenceand Obergefell,“Thomas” Written on Page 119 of idea In Dobbs. “Because any substantive due process decision is a ‘clear error’ … we have a duty to ‘correct errors’ established in those precedents. “
Thomas added, “Following the passage of these significantly misguided decisions, the question will remain as to whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the multitude of rights that our underlying litigation cases have created. out or not.”
However, five other conservative judges were involved in the decision, apparently trying to reassure in their view that those other rights would not be targeted. Dissent Justice’s opinion “shows that our decision is in question Griswold, Eisenstadt, Lawrenceand Obergefell. … But we have clearly stated that [n]In view of this, something needs to be understood to cast doubt on precedents unrelated to abortion,” they wrote.
Thomas’ comments were denied by President Biden as part of what he described as “an extreme and dangerous path the courts are taking us on”.
As recently as 1960, every state in the country had anti-domination laws New York Times. In LawrenceSupreme Court struck down Texas law prohibits gay sex. That opinion overturned a controversial 1986 ruling that upheld anti-regime legislation in Georgia in a 5-4 vote. That ruling shows that the Constitution does not protect gay sex, even in the privacy of people’s families.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Written The majority in rulings 6 to 3 said gay people “have the right to respect their private life”.
Kennedy wrote: “The state cannot disregard their existence or control their fate by making their private sexual behavior a crime. “Their freedom under the Due Process Clause gives them full power to carry out their conduct without government intervention.”
In his dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion in Lawrence is “the product of the culture of the legal profession, which largely signed off on the so-called homosexual agenda, by which I mean an agenda promoted by some gay activists to eliminate moral imposition traditionally associated with same-sex sexual behavior.”
Republicans cheered the Supreme Court’s decision, with former vice president Mike Pence calling for National abortion ban. While House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) refuse to answer Whether he supported the Supreme Court’s review of rights in some of the cases Thomas mentioned, other Republicans were more vocal about their positions. Utah Senate President Stuart Adams (R) said he would support the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex unions if the Supreme Court reconsiders marriage equality, according to a statement. Salt Lake Tribune.
Paxton has also praised the decision to have an abortion, claiming in a New information posted that June 24 is now an annual holiday for the Texas attorney general’s office.
His comments about same-sex relationships in Texas were met with resistance from critics and libertarians, including Rochelle Garza, the Democratic candidate for attorney general. state attorney, who is running against Paxton in November.
“Roe is just the first – they won’t stop until they restore all of our citizenship,” she said. tweeted Tuesday.
Asked again on Friday if he supported the Texas legislature’s ability to test the sodomy law, Paxton was reluctant but maintained that he would defend the law if the Supreme Court reconsiders it. Lawrence.
“I had to go through it,” he told NewsNation. “This is completely new territory for us, so I have to [see] how the legislature is made and whether we think we can protect it. Finally, if it’s constitutional, we’ll protect it. “
Frederic J. Frommer contributed to this report.