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Texas Matters: Same-Sex Marriage Ban Bill Fails At Legislature

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Civil liberties and LGBT rights groups are hailing the failure by the Texas House of Representatives to pass HB 4105 on Thursday, which was the last day that the bill could have been considered.

HB 4105 would bar Texas from granting, enforcing or recognizing marriage licenses for same-sex couples even if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down state bans on such marriages as unconstitutional.

Chuck Smith is the executive director of Equality Texas – which works to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Texans.

But groups that support HB 4105 say despite the setback the fight isn’t over. Jonathan Saenz is the president of Texas Values Action and explains that the bill is needed to protect "traditional marriage" in Texas. 

David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi