Will the Supreme Court overturn marriage equality? Barney Frank doesn't think so.

[Behind the Aegis]

Without doubt, former Rep. Barney Frank was one of the savviest politicians ever to serve in Congress. When Frank came out in 1987, then-Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill expressed his sadness; O’Neill had been grooming Frank to become Speaker and knew that in that era, a gay man could never be elected to the position.

Time recently did an interview with the 81-year-old Frank for LGBTQ History Month, and Frank’s recollections and analysis are as trenchant as ever. Here are five key takeaways from the interview.

When Frank was preparing to come out, other LGBTQ rights supporters asked him not to. “A number of my straight colleagues—maybe six or seven, [some of] the most liberal, most supportive of LGBT rights—came to me and said, ‘Please don’t do that,'” Frank recalled. “‘Yes, we want you to have a happy life. But you’re a very effective ally now on a whole range of causes.’”

In essence, they thought being a closeted Congressman would help gay rights more than someone who was out, a window into the warped political calculus of the time.

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One more LGBT History moment before the month passes on and another year of occasional glances at our history begins.

[Passenger]

1. What kind of test case would there have to be ...

... in order for it even to be up for discussion?

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Not sure, but there are those out there willing to float a case.

Texas Lawmaker Wants to Invalidate Gay Marriages

Texas is truly on a tear. In recent months the state has banned abortion after 6 weeks, proposed wildly gerrymandered Congressional maps, and passed a law barring trans kids from playing sports. And now one lawmaker has asked the state’s attorney general if a pesky landmark Supreme Court decision on marriage equality means Texans have to recognize gay marriages.

Specifically, Republican State Rep. James White sent a letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton last week seeking his official legal opinion on whether the 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriages, means that private citizens must also recognize those marriages. After all, White writes, Texas state laws defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman haven’t been officially amended or repealed.

Paxton’s office did not respond to Jezebel’s request for comment on White’s letter before publication time. The AG’s website says that most opinions are released within 180 days, but the amount of time varies based on research involved and how many briefs are received.

White uses a twisted legal argument, claiming that the Supreme Court doesn’t actually erase state laws it finds to be unconstitutional— it just leaves them dormant and unenforced by state officials. Private citizens, meanwhile, aren’t bound by those rulings. If the Attorney General were to agree with White, it could allow businesses to refuse to serve gay couples a la Masterpiece Cakeshop and maybe even let individuals sue gay couples for breaking the never-revoked law.

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I posted that on DU a few days ago. No doubt a victory in overturning Roe would lead to more nutjobs trying to go after the rights of others minorities, including gays and lesbians.