Texas Attorney General Wants To Prevent Gay Workers From Caring For Sick Spouses

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (above with Sen. Ted Cruz) doesn’t want gay employees to be able to take time off from work to care for their ailing spouses.

Paxton, a tea partier, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Obama administration over a new rule extending the Family & Medical Leave Act to same-sex couples who live in states that don’t recognize their marriages.

Paxton is also advising state agencies — which employ 310,000 people — not to follow the new FMLA rule.

“This lawsuit is about defending the sovereignty of our state, and we will continue to protect Texas from the unlawful overreach of the federal government,” Paxton said in a statement. “The newly revised definition of ‘spouse’ under the FMLA is in direct violation of state and federal laws and U.S. Constitution. Texans have clearly defined the institution of marriage in our state, and attempts by the Obama Administration to disregard the will of our citizens through the use of new federal rules is unconstitutional and an affront to the foundations of federalism.”