After
signing a bill this past Sunday proposing a ballot initiative to ban same sex marriages, Texas Governor Rick Perry held a press conference in the library of the
Calvary Christian Academy. The signing ceremony had been held in the gymnasium of the school. One of the questions presented to him was what, if anything, he would say about the bill to gay and lesbian service members returning to Texas after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His response:
"Texans made a decision about marriage and if there's a state that has more lenient views than Texas, then maybe that's a better place for them to live."
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of Texas have issued statements calling for the governor to apologize to the estimated 66,000 gay and lesbian veterans residing in Texas.