The news this morning out of Texas: On Sunday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a formal opinion declaring that county clerks throughout the state may refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Clerks need only state that serving a gay couple would violate their “sincerely held religious beliefs,” Paxton explained, and they are exempt…. Paxton believes that Texas’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act gives clerks the right to turn away gays, because serving them would substantially burden their religion…. At least one Texas county clerk has already turned away gay couples. More are likely to follow suit in the deep red state. The Texas legislature may consider passing a North Carolina-style law that permits clerks to opt out of performing marriages or […]