DALLAS, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Liberty Institute, representing State Rep. Warren Chisum and former State Sen. Todd Staples, argued alongside the Texas Attorney General's office in Dallas' "same sex divorce" case before the Dallas Court of Appeals.  Liberty Institute challenged the legality of District Judge Tena Callahan's decision to grant a divorce to a homosexual couple, citing that such action is unconstitutional under the Texas Constitution, which does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

"No state judge may take matters into his or her own hands and ignore precedent of the United States Supreme Court and the will of 76 percent of Texans who voted to reject 'same-sex marriage,'" said Hiram Sasser, Esq., director of litigation for Liberty Institute, who argued the case alongside the Texas Attorney General's office.  "This issue is best decided through the democratic process."

"Judicial restraint begins with the acknowledgement that it is the people who choose the public policy of Texas and it is their decision – not a judge's – whether to change that policy in the future," said Kelly Shackelford, President/CEO of Liberty Institute.  "This is judicial activism at its worst."

Rep. Chisum and former Sen. Staples cosponsored the Marriage Amendment, known as Proposition 2, which states that marriage is limited to unions between one man and one woman.   It passed in 2005 by 76 percent.

Liberty Institute argues that Judge Callahan's ruling is contradictory to the Texas Constitution and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) because by granting a same-sex divorce, it recognizes a same-sex marriage performed in another state.  A similar case is currently taking place in Austin, Texas, where District Judge Scott Jenkins granted a same-sex divorce to a lesbian couple in February and denied the Attorney General's motion for intervention in late March.  Liberty Institute plans to stand with the Attorney General in that case as well.

Liberty Institute is a public policy and non-profit legal firm dedicated to protecting freedoms and strengthening families.

For more information, visit www.libertyinstitute.org.

SOURCE Liberty Institute

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