Investigation targets Paxton on gay marriage

A misstep by the attorney general might get him disbarred.

Ken Paxton, already indicted on separate charges, will face a State Bar ethics investigation over a questionable legal opinion he issued in 2015.

After the U.S. Supreme Court deemed gay marriage legal in June, Paxton wrote an opinion telling county clerks they could use religious grounds to refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

Although he mentioned possible ligation or fines for objecting to issue a marriage license, his opinion could be seen as permission to break the law, an action worth disbarment if Paxton is deemed guilty.

“The Texas ethics rules prohibit any lawyer, including the Attorney General, from counseling a client to engage in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent,” Houston attorney Eddie Rodriguez said in a news release. His firm helped initiate the complaint.

The complaint was reinstated by the state Board of Disciplinary Appeals after the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas dismissed it last year.

The board’s reinstatement means Paxton will have to respond to the complaint. Texans deserve to hear.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Investigation targets Paxton on gay marriage."