Following a federal judge's decision to end the ban on gay marriage in Texas, Attorney General Greg Abbott vowed on Thursday to appeal the ruling, the New York Daily News reported.
A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. However, he is allowing the ban to remain in order for Abbott to plan an appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Abbott, who is also likely to become the Republican gubernational candidate for governor, said though "there are good, well-meaning people on both sides," each state should have the right to determine their own laws -- citing the 2005 constitutional amendment in the state that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
"As the lower court acknowledged today, it's an issue that will ultimately be resolved by a higher court," Abbott said.
In his ruling, Garcia said the amendment could not overrule the individual right of each Texan. He also said it was not decided "in defiance of the great people of Texas or the Texas Legislature" but instead with the U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
"Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our United States Constitution," he wrote.
Earlier this week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder suggested state attorneys general were not obligated to defend their state's ban on same-sex marriage if they deemed it unconstitutional.
"I think it's pretty clear to see there may be multiple rulings by multiple circuits that will force this issue back to the Supreme Court," Abbott added. "We all think this is an issue that will be decided by the Supreme Court."
