Tony Tinderholt: Texas Tea Party Lawmaker Who Wrote Complaint Against Gay Marriage Is On His Fifth Wife

Tony Tinderholt is fighting for the sanctity of marriage in Texas — just not his own.

The Tea Party-backed lawmaker recently filed a handwritten complaint against a judge who allowed the state’s first same-sex marriage. Tinderholt claimed that the judge was twisting the state’s law and tried to take up the issue with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

He later laid out his argument in a Facebook message.

“On February 19, Judge David Wahlberg issued a ruling that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional and ordered a circuit court clerk to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple. This judge deliberately violated statutory law that requires judges to notify the Office of Attorney General before ruling on constitutionality.

“Today, I filed an official complaint with the state commission on judicial conduct. When we have an activist judge making decisions outside the law, regardless of the issue, then no Texan is safe.”

But Tony Tinderholt might have a problem with his argument for the sanctity of marriage — namely the fact that he’s been married five times. At age 44, Tinderholt already has four divorces under his belt and is currently married to a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

That actually wasn’t the only problem with the complaint, noted Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy.

“? First, he complained about the wrong judge and case.

? Then, he applied the law the wrong way in his complaint.

? Had he managed to apply the law the right way to the right judge, he still would have come out wrong.

Tinderholt, 44 and in his fifth marriage, said in a published statement that he wants a judicial system that “respects the laws” and separation of powers, as if judges shouldn’t declare the Texas Legislature’s laws unconstitutional without prior permission from the Legislature.”

Tinderholt appears to have some loose ideas on marriage himself. In a court-ordered psychological evaluation obtained by MySanAntonio, Tinderholt admitted that one of the times he married it was for “insurance reasons.”

The fight over gay marriage in Texas has turned in some surprising headlines lately. Last week, a group of conservative state lawmakers caused a bit of a stir when they held a cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of a gay marriage ban.

It’s unclear just how much Tony Tinderholt is opposed to gay marriage or whether he’s a stickler for judicial conduct. He doesn’t list gay marriage among his key issues on his website, and he’s considered less vocal on the subject than some other Texas conservatives.

[Image via Facebook]