The price of hate: In a panic over the prospect of gay couples having the right to marry, homophobic lawmakers in Texas passed an amendment to the state constitution in 2005 that was so poorly worded that it banned all marriages, including those that the anti-gay amateur porn star Carrie Prejean once described as “opposite marriages” — or so suggests the Democratic candidate for state attorney general:

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state.
The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that “marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.” But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares:

“This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”

Architects of the amendment included the clause to ban same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships. But Radnofsky … says the wording of Subsection B effectively “eliminates marriage in Texas,” including common-law marriages.

Radnofsky blames the inclusion of such poor wording in a document as august as the state constitution on the current Republican attorney general, who approved the language.

While there’s little chance that the poorly worded clause will put the marriage rights of straight Texans into play, Radnofsky says, “This breeds unneeded arguments, lawsuits and expense which could have been avoided by good lawyering. Yes, I believe the clear language of B bans all marriages, and this is indeed a huge mistake.”