DALLAS—Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) yesterday made his first public comments regarding a Texas court’s refusal to grant a gay Dallas couple divorce. The vocally anti-gay Perry said he hasn’t decided if it is more important to “break apart a sinful marriage” by granting the couple divorce, or to refuse their petition and “protect the sanctity of straight divorces.”
The Texas Supreme Court announced that on November 5 it would hear arguments regarding the case of two men—referred to as “J.B.” and “H.B.” in court records—who were married legally in Massachusetts before they moved to Texas and ultimately decided to split. Divorcing a same-sex couple would require the state to recognize that they were married in the first place—not an option in the Lone Star state.
“Maybe [the court’s decision] is God’s way of saying, ‘Hey, maybe you shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place,’ you know? I think if Texas decides that these men can’t divorce, then it’s appropriate punishment that they stay married in sin all their lives,” Perry stated.
“On the other hand,” Perry admitted, “if the court insists they stay married, then that’s kind of like supporting gay marriage, isn’t it?”
Perry made the comments following his recent visit to a Maryland gun factory when one reporter decided to change the subject from gun control to gay marriage.
Perry also said that divorce, like marriage, is a sacred institution that should be reserved only for “God-fearing straight couples” and protected from “the scourge of secularism.”
“I think God blessed straight couples with the opportunity to divorce as a way of protecting them from the innocent mistake of getting married too soon, but that doesn’t mean the same rights should apply to gay marriages,” Perry said.
While the decision belongs to the Texas Supreme Court and not the governor, Perry said he plans to follow the case closely and “wants to contribute to its outcome.” “Right now I’m thinking that a good compromise would be to grant them the divorce, but only if they sign a legal document saying that next time they will marry women.”
“Still, I have to pray about it,” Perry concluded.
