After court ruling, The Colectivo de Latinx Ministries issues statement, standing in solidarity with Texas’ LGBTQIA+ community

The Colectivo de Latinx Ministries of the United Church of Christ has issued a statement speaking against the Oct. 24 decision by the Texas Supreme Court allowing judges the right to refuse to marry same-sex couples based upon “sincerely held” religious beliefs.

In the statement, signed by the Rev. Yinessa Romero and the Rev. Dr. Lorraine Ceniceros, The Colectivo moderator and vice moderator respectively, the group affirms its “unwavering solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community in Texas” stating that “every person is created in the image of God and deserves to live with dignity, respect, compassion, and justice.”

While judges and justices of the peace are not required to officiate weddings, a 2015 ruling required them to officiate both same-sex and opposite-sex couples or neither. The Oct. 24 decision, signed by nine Republican justices, rescinds that and allows judges in the Lone Star state the right to decline same-sex marriage requests.

The Colectivo’s statement calls upon policymakers and faith leaders, as well as “all people of goodwill” to make the love modeled by Jesus the Christ the foundation for all actions and decisions. Not doing so is “to defy God’s command.”

Romero told UCC News that the statement was born out of the Gospel, which “compels us to advocate for love rather than discrimination.”

“A court decision that legitimizes hatred and chooses prejudice over love is not something we can remain silent about,” said Romero. “True justice is realized only in the absence of exclusion, never through it.”

Texas is not the only state revisiting same-sex marriage guidelines. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to meet on Nov. 7 to consider a challenge to same-sex marriage from former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who refused licenses to gay couples after the 2015 decision legalized it nationwide.

Read the statement in its entirety below.

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