In 2014, two Texas judges, Federal District Judge Orlando Garcia and District Court Judge Barbara Nellermoe, in response to two separate cases against the state, found Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. With an appeal of the decision, spearheaded by newly elected Governor Greg Abbott, already in the works the future of marriage equality in Texas appears balanced on knife-point.
Texas history may predict for some the outcome of the fight, but as marriage equality cases sweep the nation and the issue barrels ever closer to the Supreme Court, many are hopeful that a federal resolution in favor of same-sex couples may be finally within reach.
San Antonio, the heart of culturally conservative South Texas, has been affected both by this hope and the traditionalist backlash. With the percentage of gay couples raising children in San Antonio among the highest in the nation as well as a traditional Hispanic culture deeply rooted in Catholicism, the city is uniquely perched on the precipice of the issue.
The pursuit, here, is to allow members of the LGBTQ community to step away from the cultural commotion and explain, in simple, honest terms, what marriage equality coming to Texas would mean for them and their families.