A federal judge struck down Texas’s ban on same-sex marriages Wednesday, the latest in a rapid-fire series of rulings in which judges have all reached the same conclusion: that states may not withhold marriage from gay men and lesbians.
The Texas ruling was handed down by U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia, who declared the ban to be “state-imposed inequality.” His decision does not mean that gay couples in Texas will be able to marry — at least not right away. Garcia, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, immediately stayed the effect of his ruling, pending an appeal....