The top law-enforcement official in Texas defied the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday, and told the state's county clerks and magistrates that they could refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples if they felt that issuing them would violate their "religious liberty."

In two lengthy statements, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that the justices' landmark Obergefell vs. Hodges ruling represented a "lawless ... judge-made edict," noting that marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution's 14th Amendment. But the tribunal "again ignored the text and spirit of the Constitution to manufacture a right that simply does not exist," Paxton added.

"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," the attorney general wrote, effectively advising clerks to deny marriage licenses if they consider it appropriate.

While it was "important to note that (the clerks) may well face litigation and/or a fine," Paxton noted that "numerous lawyers stand ready to assist clerks defending their religious beliefs" and that he would "do everything I can from this office to be a public voice for those standing in defense of their rights."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, seemed to back his attorney general's arguments in a statement on Friday.

"Texans of all faiths must be absolutely secure in the knowledge that their religious freedom is beyond the reach of government," Abbott wrote in a memo released by his office. "Renewing and reinforcing that promise is all the more important in light of the Supreme Court's decision."

Paxton's and Abbott's comments were harshly criticized by gay-rights advocates, who are pursuing an indubitable implementation of the Supreme Court ruling across the nation after several states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, have held back on providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the Washington Post detailed.

"Public officials have no constitutional or statutory right to discriminate in providing public services," Shannon Minter, the legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told the newspaper. "This opinion is wrong on the law, and it does a disservice to officials who need clear, reliable guidance about their duty to follow the law and to provide marriage licenses to all qualified couples."