The head of a Republican group has
strongly condemned a recent ruling striking down Texas' ban on gay
marriage.
In his ruling, U.S. District Court
Judge Orlando Garcia said that the state's marriage laws demean the
dignity of gay and lesbian couples for “no legitimate reason.”
Garcia stayed his ruling pending an appeal.
(Related: Texas
AG Greg Abbott to appeal gay marriage ruling.)
Dr. Steve Hotze, president of
Conservative Republicans of Texas, criticized the ruling in a press
release in support of the re-election campaign of Harris County
Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill.
“Our Founding Fathers would be
furious to find out that the Constitution was being interpreted to
allow sodomites to marry,” Hotze wrote in a fundraising letter.
Hotze defended his remarks when asked
about them by Houston's
KHOU.
“I don't know how I could be any
clearer,” he said. “This whole issue is about judicial liberal
activism that is trying to redefine marriage.”
Woodfill also declined to repudiate
Hotze's remarks.
“The terminology I want attached is
this judge has been a liberal activist and he has violated the law of
this state,” Woodfill said.