Texas GOP lawmaker mistakenly tweets support for gay marriage
Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick, a Republican, is an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage. But for a few brief moments on Thursday afternoon, his Twitter feed was not.
"MARRIAGE= ONE MAN & ONE MAN," blared a tweet from Patrick at 3:05 p.m. "Enough of these activist judges. FAVORITE if you agree. I know the silent majority out there is with us."
The tweet was promptly removed and replaced less than 10 minutes later with a tweet that more accurately captured Patrick's sentiments on marriage equality:
MARRIAGE= ONE MAN & ONE WOMAN. Enough of these activist judges. FAVORITE if you agree. I know the silent majority out there is with us!
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) February 26, 2014
I want to re-emphasize my long held position: Marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman. Period. Join us : http://t.co/8rERPM4IXE
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) February 26, 2014
Patrick, who is running for lieutenant governor, was reacting to a ruling Thursday by a federal judge striking down a Texas law banning same-sex marriage.
The judge, Orlando Garcia, said the Texas law violated the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. He declined to immediately throw the law out, however, leaving it in place pending an appeal.