On August 31, 2011, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas ruled that a state ban on same-sex marriage does not violate the US Constitution. The ruling came in the divorce case of a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts. The court overturned a 2009 decision by the 302nd Family District Court that it had jurisdiction to hear the case. Instead, the court found that allowing subject matter jurisdiction in the case violated state law, which prevented the state from recognizing any marriage other than that between a man and woman. The ban was first approved by the Texas Senate and endorsed by then-Governor Rick Perry in June 2005. The amendment was passed by referendum the following November.

Read an overview of Same-Sex Marriage in Features.