The bill would also allow government officials to deny marriage rights to interracial couples, critics warn.
By Chris Walker ,
TRUTHOUT
February 13, 2024
LGBTQ RIGHTS
Wisconsin Legislators Propose Amendment to Repeal Anti-Marriage Equality Laws
Democrats proposing the repeal are hopeful they can get Republicans to support it, too.
By Chris Walker , TRUTHOUT December 15, 2023
The bill’s text reads:
A person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.
The bill wouldn’t just apply to wedding officiants and religious leaders — it also amends Tennessee Code Section 36-3-301, which applies to public government officials, including county clerks who handle marriage licenses. The legislation would allow those individuals, too, to refuse to “solemnize” a marriage based on their own religious convictions.
It’s unclear whether Republican Gov. Bill Lee will sign the bill into law. Lee has signed a slew of anti-LGBTQ bills since becoming governor, including one allowing state-funded foster care agencies to legally deny LGBTQ people the ability to serve as foster parents. Since 2015, more than a dozen anti-LGBTQ bills have become law in Tennessee.
Allison Chapman, LGBTQ+ legislative researcher and activist, spoke to Truthout about the potential outcomes of the bill’s passage.
“Tennessee is attempting to bypass the Supreme Court by trying to skirt around the decisions made in Loving v. Virginia and Obergefell v. Hodges by allowing anyone to refuse to perform a marriage due to their personal beliefs,” Chapman said. “This allows for blatant discrimination to occur by members of government and clergy, making it near impossible for some couples to get married in the most conservative parts of Tennessee.”
This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license.
CHRIS WALKERis a news writer at Truthout, and is based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Focusing on both national and local topics since the early 2000s, he has produced thousands of articles analyzing the issues of the day and their impact on the American people. He can be found on most social media platforms under the handle @thatchriswalker.
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Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.
Republican lawmakers in the Tennessee state legislature have advanced a bill to the governor which, if signed into law, would give public officials the ability to deny marriages to LGBTQ or interracial couples.
The bill would invariably be challenged by LGBTQ groups as unconstitutional, in violation of standards that were enacted through Supreme Court rulings like Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage throughout the entire country, and Loving v. Virginia, which forbids state laws barring interracial marriages.
The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Mark Pody (R) and state Rep. Monty Fritts (R). Fritts has asserted that any opposition to the bill being anti-LGBTQ is misplaced because the bill doesn’t mention such marriages at all, dubiously claiming that the bill merely exists to clarify “the rights of the officiate or officiates of wedding ceremonies” to refuse to perform marriage ceremonies based on religious convictions, rights that already exist within the state and that aren’t being questioned or challenged.
However, the text of the bill certainly has the potential to reduce the ability of LGBTQ couples to get their marriages recognized by the state, says Tennessee-based minister Eric Patton.
“The way it’s worded, you can discriminate against anybody for any reason, which is terrible,” Patton told a local news station. “The idea that you can discriminate against anybody is just wrong-headed and general Tennessee nonsense.”
Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.
Republican lawmakers in the Tennessee state legislature have advanced a bill to the governor which, if signed into law, would give public officials the ability to deny marriages to LGBTQ or interracial couples.
The bill would invariably be challenged by LGBTQ groups as unconstitutional, in violation of standards that were enacted through Supreme Court rulings like Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage throughout the entire country, and Loving v. Virginia, which forbids state laws barring interracial marriages.
The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Mark Pody (R) and state Rep. Monty Fritts (R). Fritts has asserted that any opposition to the bill being anti-LGBTQ is misplaced because the bill doesn’t mention such marriages at all, dubiously claiming that the bill merely exists to clarify “the rights of the officiate or officiates of wedding ceremonies” to refuse to perform marriage ceremonies based on religious convictions, rights that already exist within the state and that aren’t being questioned or challenged.
However, the text of the bill certainly has the potential to reduce the ability of LGBTQ couples to get their marriages recognized by the state, says Tennessee-based minister Eric Patton.
“The way it’s worded, you can discriminate against anybody for any reason, which is terrible,” Patton told a local news station. “The idea that you can discriminate against anybody is just wrong-headed and general Tennessee nonsense.”
LGBTQ RIGHTS
Wisconsin Legislators Propose Amendment to Repeal Anti-Marriage Equality Laws
Democrats proposing the repeal are hopeful they can get Republicans to support it, too.
By Chris Walker , TRUTHOUT December 15, 2023
The bill’s text reads:
A person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.
The bill wouldn’t just apply to wedding officiants and religious leaders — it also amends Tennessee Code Section 36-3-301, which applies to public government officials, including county clerks who handle marriage licenses. The legislation would allow those individuals, too, to refuse to “solemnize” a marriage based on their own religious convictions.
It’s unclear whether Republican Gov. Bill Lee will sign the bill into law. Lee has signed a slew of anti-LGBTQ bills since becoming governor, including one allowing state-funded foster care agencies to legally deny LGBTQ people the ability to serve as foster parents. Since 2015, more than a dozen anti-LGBTQ bills have become law in Tennessee.
Allison Chapman, LGBTQ+ legislative researcher and activist, spoke to Truthout about the potential outcomes of the bill’s passage.
“Tennessee is attempting to bypass the Supreme Court by trying to skirt around the decisions made in Loving v. Virginia and Obergefell v. Hodges by allowing anyone to refuse to perform a marriage due to their personal beliefs,” Chapman said. “This allows for blatant discrimination to occur by members of government and clergy, making it near impossible for some couples to get married in the most conservative parts of Tennessee.”
This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license.
CHRIS WALKERis a news writer at Truthout, and is based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Focusing on both national and local topics since the early 2000s, he has produced thousands of articles analyzing the issues of the day and their impact on the American people. He can be found on most social media platforms under the handle @thatchriswalker.
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