Justice of the Peace Who Found a Solution for All Is Still Under Fire

Despite doing her best to find a solution that would reconcile her religious beliefs while serving the needs of her community, Justice of the Peace, Dianne Hensley is still under fire for not personally performing a same-sex marriage due to her religious beliefs. Learn more at FirstLiberty.org/Briefing. Dianne Hensley is a Justice of the Peace in Waco, Texas.  Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage, she has been looking for a way to reconcile her religious beliefs while serving the needs of her community. She knows that her convictions prevent her from officiating gay weddings, but she understands that many of her gay friends do not share that conviction. If she, like most of the local justices of the peace stopped officiating weddings altogether, those without ready access to low-cost alternatives suffer most. So, she assembled a referral list of wedding officiants, including a walk-in wedding chapel just 3 blocks from the courthouse.  That arrangement worked, until the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, without having received a complaint, initiated an investigation.  That resulted in an official “public warning” with likely worse sanctions to follow should she continue. Surely in 2020, we can find a way to protect those with religious beliefs that prevent them from officiating weddings with which they morally disagree, while also accommodating the marriage of anyone lawfully allowed to wed. We’ve filed a lawsuit against the Commission, alleging their punishment violates Dianne’s religious liberty.  Rather than punish her, the Commission ought to have recognized Dianne’s effort to balance her faith with the needs of her community — a type of basic, human, and much needed fairness missing in much of America today. To learn how First Liberty is protecting religious liberty for all Americans, visit FirstLiberty.org.