AUSTIN -- By a state court order, the Travis County clerk issued a marriage license to a same-sex couple on Thursday.
According to the county clerk's office, Judge David Wahlberg signed a state court order from the 167th District Court to Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir on Thursday, commanding Debeauvoir to "cease and desist relying on the unconstitutional Texas prohibitions against same-sex marriage as a basis for not issuing a marriage license specifically to Plaintiffs Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant," due to the fact that Goodfriend has ovarian cancer.
According to a press release from Katie Naranjo with GNI Strategies, a campaign strategy firm, Goodfriend and Bryant were married by their Rabbi Kerry Baker at 9:15 a.m. Thursday at the Travis County Tax Assessor Collector's Office in Austin. They were joined by their daughters, Dawn and Ting.
Goodfriend and Bryant filed a petition for relief following Judge Guy Herman's ruling on Tuesday that Texas' ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
"We want to open the door for all LGBT families to have the right to marry in Texas," Bryant said in a statement. "We were both born in Texas, came back to Texas after we met to build a family and establish our lives here. We plan to die here, and we have waited to get married because, as proud Texans, we want a Texas marriage license."
Bryant and Goodfriend have been together for 30 years, Naranjo said. Goodfriend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in May.
"I want to finally be able to marry the love of my life," Goodfriend said. "Having faced a life-threatening disease I realized time is precious and that I wanted to spend it on the things that mattered most -- my family."
Debeauvoir said the license was only good for this one couple.
"The judge deemed it an important exception based on recent rulings," she said."This couple is medically fragile and he believed they might survive in time to hear the court's final rulings."
Goodfriend also said she did not want Bryant to experience the same problems that Stella Powell and Sonemaly Phrasavath experienced.
In October 2013, Powell was diagnosed with colon cancer, and she died eight months later. She did not have a valid will, and because her marriage was not recognized by the state, her belongings went to her siblings instead of her partner. Phrasavath sued for her part of the inheritance.
The clerk's office said the couple may not get the chance to hear the final outcome on same-sex marriage in Texas due to being "medically fragile."
The clerk's office stressed that the order applies only to this specific couple, and any additional licenses issued to same-sex couples in Texas must also be court-ordered.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called for a stay on Herman's ruling and has requested the Texas Supreme Court overturn the ruling. He released the following statement Thursday:
"The Texas Constitution clearly defines marriage as between one man and one woman, as Texas voters approved by an overwhelming majority. The law of Texas has not changed, and will not change due to the whims of any individual judge or county clerk operating on their own capacity anywhere in Texas. Activist judges don't change Texas law and we will continue to aggressively defend the laws of our state and will ensure that any licenses issued contrary to law are invalid."
"I fully support the Attorney General's emergency appeals and efforts to fully enforce the laws of Texas. I hope the Texas Supreme Court will respond in a timely fashion in addressing General Paxton's appeals," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement.
Gov. Greg Abbott released the following statement Thursday in response to the ruling:
"Article 1, Section 32 of the Texas Constitution defines marriage as consisting 'only of the union of one man and one woman' and was approved by more than three-quarters of Texas voters. I am committed to ensuring that the Texas Constitution is upheld and that the rule of law is maintained in the State of Texas."
Read the full court order below.
