What is the right to marry and found a family?

The right to marry and found a family is a fundamental human right. In Texas, this right is protected by the Texas Constitution and the United States Constitution, as well as various global human rights instruments. The Texas Constitution protects the right to marry in Article 1, Section 32, which states, “All persons, and no other, have the right to marry and found a family.” This language mirrors the language of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.” The United States Constitution also protects the right to marry. In the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia (1967), the Court struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage and extended marriage rights to couples of all races. This ruling was based on the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In addition, the United Nations has adopted a number of human rights instruments, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which recognize the right to marry and found a family. Thus, both at the national and international level, the right to marry and found a family is a fundamental human right that is protected in Texas.

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