--- title: Texas Judge Rules State's Gay-Marriage Ban Unconstitutional description: But they won't start issuing marriage licenses yet canonical: https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-17T22:26:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:53.277Z article:section: Politics og:title: Texas Judge Says State's Gay Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional og:description: But they won't start issuing marriage licenses yet og:url: https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Texas Judge Says State's Gay Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional twitter:description: But they won't start issuing marriage licenses yet twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Texas Judge Says State's Gay-Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Know Right Now: Gay Marriage Continues Despite Alabama Judge's Order [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Gay Marriage Continues Despite Alabama Judge's Order](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sIQoOM1I.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2015-02-09. Local officials in Alabama began issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples, after the state's top judge set up a high-stakes legal showdown_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Feb 17, 2015 10:26 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Feb 17, 2015 10:26 PM UTC A Texas judge [ruled Tuesday that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional](http://www.statesman.com/news/news/travis-judge-rules-gay-marriage-ban-unconstitution/nkC2C/#%5F%5Ffederated=1), in just the latest of numerous rulings striking down bans across the country. Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman made the ruling as part of an estate dispute, in which a woman sought to have her eight-year relationship with her late partner accepted as common-law marriage, the [Austin _Statesman_ reports](http://www.statesman.com/news/news/travis-judge-rules-gay-marriage-ban-unconstitution/nkC2C/#%5F%5Ffederated=1). But the ruling doesn’t necessarily mean the county will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said she couldn’t begin issuing the licenses right away. “I am scrambling, trying to find out if there is anything I can do,” she said. “Right now, I think it’s no, but we are checking.” The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on same-sex marriage nationally later this year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/"},"headline":"Texas Judge Says State's Gay-Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional","datePublished":"2015-02-17T22:26:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:59:53.277Z","description":"But they won't start issuing marriage licenses yet","url":"https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/","keywords":["Courts","same sex marriage"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/courts/","name":"Courts"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/","name":"Texas Judge Says State's Gay-Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Gay Marriage Continues Despite Alabama Judge's Order","description":"Local officials in Alabama began issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples, after the state's top judge set up a high-stakes legal showdown","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sIQoOM1I/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-09T17:51:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sIQoOM1I.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/","duration":"PT1M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3712617/gay-marriage-texas-ban-unconstitutional/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```