Gay marriage fight pits Texas AG vs. gay friend
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
WACO, Texas (AP) — When Greg Abbott was paralyzed by a fallen tree in 1984, Mark Phariss flew 500 miles to his friend’s bedside. They were law school pals who swapped stories over dinner, job leads and airport rides, and they still exchange Christmas cards today.
Their friendship is now at an extraordinary junction: Phariss, who is gay, filed the Texas lawsuit that a federal judge used this week to strike down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, which Abbott, Texas’ attorney general, has vowed to defend all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Both chalk it up as a remarkable coincidence. Abbott, a Republican who is running for Texas governor, said Friday he still considers Pharris a friend, even though they’ve lost touch in the past decade.
Phariss, who never told Abbott he was gay, echoed the sentiment — even as Abbott works to uphold what Phariss considers to be discrimination. “If I was only friends with the people I agreed with, particularly in Texas, I wouldn’t have many friends,” Pharris told The Associated Press.
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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/28/gay_marriage_fight_pits_texas_ag_vs_gay_friend/
= new reply since forum marked as read
"what self respecting member of the LBGTQ community has friends like THAT?" 
