Top Texas Republicans sign brief warning same-sex marriage will lead to pedophilia

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- As the state of Texas fights to maintain its ban on same-sex marriage, 63 members of the Texas Conservative Coalition signed an amicus brief claiming overturning the ban will lead to the legalization of incest, pedophilia and polygamy.

The "friend of the court" brief, filed Monday and co-signed by Texas lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick and attorney general candidate Ken Paxton, claims that "If the right to select 'partners of their choosing' is the criterion used to invoke marriage as a fundamental right, then marriage restrictions on age, polygamy, and consanguinity are also ripe for challenge."

Rather than simply allude to seemingly insensitive rhetoric, the brief attempts to justify the philosophies of those who do not differentiate between same-sex marriage and non-consensual or group partnerships. In February, a federal district court overturned Texas' same-sex marriage ban, ruling that it was neither "rational" or "legitimate" -- but the brief filed Monday asserts anti-gay legislation is both "valid" and "entirely rational."

"Another ground cited by supporters of Texas's marriage laws and subsequently dismissed by the district court is that recognition of same-sex marriage 'could lead to the recognition of bigamy, incest, pedophilia, and group marriage. As already discussed in this brief, restrictions on marriage relating to these moral considerations remain valid. Thus, the goal of actively trying to prevent those practices from becoming valid is entirely rational public policy."

Texas Democratic state Rep. Celia Israel condemned the brief's extremist language, emphasizing that it does not represent the values of her state.

"This kind of bigotry belongs to the Mad Men era, not in our Texas," Israel told the Texas Tribune.

"We should be working to welcome more people to our state, not spreading this kind of hateful rhetoric."