On Sunday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a blistering condemnation of the Supreme Court’s recent same-sex marriage ruling, calling it “a lawless decision by an activist Court” and telling government officials they could refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples on religious grounds.

“This newly invented federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage should peaceably coexist alongside longstanding constitutional and statutory rights, including the rights to free exercise of religion and speech,” wrote Paxton in a formal legal opinion. “County clerks and their employees retain religious freedoms that may allow accommodation of their religious objections to issuing same-sex marriage licenses.”

Critics of the memo have accused Paxton of supporting illegal discrimination. From the Austin American-Statesmen:

Austin lawyer Jody Scheske said Paxton’s opinion was legally and morally wrong.

“We settled the idea that public officials can pick which citizens to serve or not in the ’50s and ’60s civil rights litigation. They cannot,” Scheske said.

Formal attorney general opinions, which not binding but are considered legally persuasive, typically take six months to be issued.

In his opinion, Paxton warned that any official that denied a marriage license to a same-sex couple could face litigation, but promised, “I will do everything I can from this office to be a public voice for those standing in defense of their rights.”

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