TEXAS: State Claims To Be Surprised By Request To Lift Marriage Stay

Via the Houston Chronicle:

Texas officials want a federal judge to uphold the state's same-sex marriage ban, calling a request by gay couples to be allowed to immediately marry "untimely" and "out of order." "The plaintiffs offer no explanation for why they waited so long to file their motion,"Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote in a court document filed Tuesday. "They should not be rewarded for lying behind the log and springing this challenge on the Court and the State at the eleventh hour, demanding immediate relief." U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio in February ruled Texas' gay marriage ban unconstitutional, but issued a stay on allowing gay couples to immediately wed during the appeals process. Abbott has appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. On Monday, the two same-sex couples challenging the ban filed a motion asking Garcia to lift the stay. Abbott, the governor-elect, however, said the plaintiffs should be forced to wait until the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears the Texas and Louisiana cases on Jan. 9: "Modifying the preliminary-injunction order to remove the stay would interfere with the Fifth Circuit's appellate jurisdiction."

Lying behind the log? Read the full filing. (Tipped by JMG reader Rob)