Conservative Group Seeks To Block Houston Same-Sex Benefits

HOUSTON, TX — Conservative activists filed a notion on Friday in Harris County District Court seeking to block the city from paying same-sex spousal benefits to municipal employees. Their action follows a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court last week that found gay couples may not be entitled to such benefits.

In addition, the group seeks to recover funds that the city spent on same-sex spousal benefits since November 2103, The Associated Press reported. Houston is the fourth-largest city in America.

Writing on Dallasvoice.com, David Taffet asked whether the opinion of the Texas high court — Pidgeon v. Turner — could effect the payment of such benefits in Houston. The Texas Supreme Court remanded the case to a trial court.

Taffet's answer came from Kali Cohn, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas.

“Yes,” Cohn wrote. “The case was brought by two private plaintiffs who sued Houston to try to stop Houston from providing employee benefits to same-sex spouses of employees married in other states (the case was brought pre-Obergefell, so there were no same-sex couples married in Texas at the time). They argued that provisions of the Texas Constitution and Family Code banned the recognition of same-sex marriage in Texas and prohibited cities from giving effect to same-sex marriages from out-of-state. The trial court concluded that the city could not provide those benefits consistent with the Texas State Constitution, Texas Family Code, and city charter, and issued an injunction stopping the city from providing those benefits. After the trial court issued its ruling, the Supreme Court handed down Obergefell, which ruled that same-sex married couples are entitled to the same legal rights, benefits, and responsibilities of different-sex couples"

Calls to the office of the Houston mayor were not immediately returned.

— Image: Minot.af.mil