Texas Supreme Court justices questioned whether a Waco justice of the peace should remain under threat of a judicial oversight body’s sanctions if she continues refusing to marry gay couples. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct gave Judge Dianne Hensley a public warning in 2019 for performing opposite-sex weddings for couples but declining to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies on religious grounds — a move that raised doubts about her capacity to act impartially. Her refusal occurred in the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that required all states to license same-sex marriages. Hensley serves as a justice of the peace in McLennan County, an elected position whose role includes hearing traffic and misdemeanor cases; presiding over landlord and tenant disputes; and conducting weddings. Following the 2019 warning, Hensley filed a lawsuit alleging that the judicial commission violated her rights under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The 1999 act was designed to ensure the government cannot “substantially burden” free exercise of religious beliefs. The case is believed to be among several similar other cases that will attempt to expand the reach of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that let a Colorado web designer refuse same-sex couples. #Queer Up Courts