The City of Austin is expected to
become the first Texas municipality to endorse marriage equality when
it meets Thursday night.
At the meeting, city leaders will
consider a resolution endorsing such unions in Texas.
The resolution is sponsored by Mayor
Pro Tem Sheryl Cole. Co-sponsors include Mayor Leffingwell and
Council Member Laura Morrison.
According to the Austin
Chronicle, the resolution is “unlikely to raise much
dissent in the chamber.”
Symbolic only in nature, it cites
historical, moral and political imperatives in support of granting
marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.
A law criminalizing gay sex remains on
Texas' books. While technically unenforceable after the Supreme
Court's groundbreaking 2003 Lawrence vs. Texas ruling,
lawmakers have steadfastly refused to remove their sodomy law, making
Texas one of only three states where such laws remain. The other two
are Oklahoma and Kansas.
In 2005, an overwhelming majority (76%)
of voters approved Proposition 2, Texas' gay marriage ban.
However, acceptance is increasing in
the Lone Star state. A
February 2012 Texas Politics survey found a majority of Texas
voters support either marriage (31%) or civil unions (29%) for gay
couples. Thirty-three percent said they were opposed to all legal
recognition.