Out Dallas Judge Won't Perform Marriages Until Marriage Equality Achieved

Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker of the 116th Civil District Court told a meeting of the Stonewall Democrats that she does not perform marriages because "they can't be performed for me."  Judge Parker was elected last  year and never tried to hide the fact that she's a lesbian.  She's the first gay judge elected in Dallas County.

Texas judges have the authority to perform marriages but it is not a job requirement.  Some perform them and some don't,  and she has opted not to.  When I first saw this article, I thought of those town clerks in New York who have refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and wondered if Judge Parker was doing the right thing, however good her intentions. The distinction is that town clerks issue marriage licenses as a core job function while Dallas County judges are not required to perform marriages.  It's optional and discretionary.  Judge Parker happens to have a powerful reason for opting not to.  As Dallas Morning News columnist Jacquielynn Floyd said,

"So, no, she’s not abandoning her duty — she’s making a point. Maybe, like a lot of people, she’s tempted to keep quiet but feels that she can’t afford to.  Because every time it seems that paranoid bigotry against gay people has become an embarrassing social anachronism, somebody revives it for cynical political advantage."