In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe vs Wade, which has given state lawmakers the power to ban abortion, there has been suggestions that some other landmark decisions may also be revisited.
Ken Paxton, the Attorney General in Texas, has voiced his support for recriminalising homosexual acts, should the Supreme Court grant the power for state based laws. A 2003 Supreme Court decision declared that laws banning sodomy were unconstitutional.
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his opinion supporting the decision that he believed some other landmark cases in US law should also be revisited including the laws that allow for marriage equality, and those which stop stakes from outlawing homosexual sex acts.
In an interview Paxton was asked if he would be willing to take a law banning sodomy to the Supreme Court.
“My job is to defend state law and I’ll continue to do that,” he said. “That is my job under the Constitution and I’m certainly willing and able to do that.”
“This is all new territory for us so I’d have to know how the Legislature was laid out and whether we thought we could defend it,” Paxton said. “Ultimately, if it’s constitutional, we’re going to go defend it.”
In Texas the Attorney General is independent from government, and the incumbent is elected to the role. Paxton is set to face voters this November.
Paxton has been a vocal opponent of marriage equality, transgender rights and COVID-19 restrictions.
Graeme Watson
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