(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that he would support laws banning sodomy in the state of Texas if the Supreme Court were to kick that power back to the states where it belongs.
According to Paxton, the Supreme Court has spent far too long stepping “into issues that I don’t think there was any constitutional provision dealing with,” The Hill reported.
In his opinion the justices have legislated from the bench rather than allowing the federal and state legislatures to do their job of representing the people.
“They were legislative issues,” Paxton said. “This was one of those issues, and there may be more. It would depend on the issue and it would depend on the state law.”
Paxton was also asked if he would personally have any problems enforcing a law that banned sodomy. He responded by suggesting that his job is to enforce, not make, the law.
“My job is to defend state law and I’ll continue to do that, that is my job,” the Texas attorney general said.
The Texas law in question was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2003 in a case called Lawrence v. Texas.
Much of the conversation surrounding Lawrence in recent days stems from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion, in which he suggested that like Roe, Lawrence and other so-called “Due Process”-based reasonings need to be called into serious question.
“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote, alluding to two other cases dealing with contraception and gay marriage.
Ultimately, Paxton said that his job is to enforce the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of Texas.
“This is all new territory for us. I’d have to see how the legislation was laid out and if we thought we could defend it,” Paxton said.
“If it’s constitutional, we’re going to defend it.”
