Texas vs. the Supremacy Clause

I am gay.  As Lady Gaga would say, I was "born that way."  I did not have a choice and if I did have a choice I probably would not have chosen a “lifestyle” that would have me declared a second-rate citizen.  My long-term, loving relationship is not accepted as a union in the eyes of Texans who voted overwhelmingly to write into the Texas Constitution that a marriage is between one man and one woman.  All men are not created equal in Texas and for people like me even the U.S. Constitution should begin with, “We the Straight People”.  There are literally thousands of state and federal benefits that my partner and I are not entitled to because our love and support for one another is not accepted legally or by the general population.  The three branches of our United States government were created with systems of checks and balances,  the judiciary branch is there to help protect the rights of minorities,  like me.  In the landmark case, Lawrence vs. Texas, the U.S Supreme Court voted for my rights and ruled that the persecution of same-sex relations is unconstitutional.  You would think that would be in the end of it.  The Supremacy Clause states that Federal Law trumps state law but Texas continues to defy that Supreme Court ruling and still has “homosexual conduct” on the books as a crime in Texas; it is a class C misdemeanor.    

There are a few bills in motion to strike this law but they are not getting any serious attention.  The Texas House has 101 Republicans in its 150 seats; it is a supermajority.  This conservative group can be summed up by a comment made by Republican Wayne Christian, the president of the Texas Conservative Coalition, when he said that the law “better reflects the views of a lot of citizens” the way it is right now.  Yes, Wayne, it probably does but six out of nine Supreme Court Justices do not agree with you.  

The Texas Republican platform has it in writing that it wants to continue persecuting people based on their sexual orientation and their straight allies.  It seems that they want to ignore the Supreme Court and the Constitution when it best serves their agenda.  Keeping “homosexual conduct” as a crime fully demonstrates the hypocrisy of the conservatives when they call for less government but want to intrude into my bedroom.  

I have not given up hope; I still have a dream.  In my dream I live in a country where my love for another human being does not brand me a criminal.  I live in a country that is free from discrimination and bigotry.  This dream will come true, it is just a matter of time.  Equal rights will always prevail.