TEXAS ACCIDENTALLY BANS ALL MARRIAGES

In attempting to bar same-sex couples from getting married, lawmakers may have inadvertently made all marriages in the state illegitimate.

This according to lawyer and attorney general candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who has concluded that a clause in a 2005 amendment to the state’s constitution effectively nullifies any form of marriage.

The clause reads: “This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”

It is intended to bar same-sex partnerships from being recognised as marriage or civil unions, but, according to Radnofsky, it could also be interpreted to mean that it “eliminates marriage in Texas”.

The amendment was passed by lawmakers and approved by voters who chose to support the change to the constitution.

Radnofsky has slammed the current attorney general for having allowed the mistakes to slip through. “You do not have to have a fancy law degree to read this and understand what it plainly says,” she told the Star-Telegram, adding: “Whoever vetted the language… must have been asleep at the wheel.”

Last month a court in Texas ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The state is appeal the ruling.