House committee passes gay marriage ban
NASHVILLE (AP) — A constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman passed out of a House committee Tuesday.
The resolution by Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, would insert current state law into the Tennessee Constitution.
Tennessee law already defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman, and says “any policy, law, or judicial interpretation that purports to define marriage as anything other than the historical institutional and legal contract between one man and one woman is contrary to the public policy of Tennessee.”
The law also says that if any other state or foreign jurisdiction issues marriage licenses to any other combination of people, such marriage would be “void and unenforceable in this state.”
Dunn told the House Children and Family Affairs Committee the law should be enshrined in the constitution because “unfortunately, the Tennessee Supreme Court has showed they would rule however they want, regardless of what is in there.”
Dunn said he hesitated to bring up the resolution but that he was forced to act by what he called Tennessee’s activist judiciary.
“I didn’t want to see us get into the same shape as some other states,” he said, referring specifically to Massachusetts, where the state Supreme Court found the right to homosexual marriage in that state’s constitution.
Several representatives said they were concerned the resolution would inject discrimination into the Tennessee Constitution. Others said it should be a federal issue, while others said the constitutional amendment wasn’t needed because the ban already exists in state law.
“I hope we remember we’re here to protect both the minority and the majority,” said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the Tennessee ACLU chapter.
Maria Salas, and attorney in Nashville, called the resolution “un-American.”
She noted the state already bans same-sex unions, and suggested the Legislature could better spend its time dealing with child care, illiteracy and a host of other pressing problems.
Rep. Nathan Vaughn, D-Kingsport, asked Weinberg is she thought the state’s founders intended to allow same-sex marriages.
“The constitution is silent on some things,” she said. “It originally did not allow women to vote, or treat people of color with the respect they deserve. It’s an evolving document. But we typically do not amend it to take rights away from people.”
Vaughn said he believed the amendment, which passed by a 9-3 vote, would bring “clarity” to the issue.
Dunn cited the dictionary as his source of the definition of marriage.
“I didn’t create this definition,” he said. “The dictionary defines it as a union of one man and one woman. That’s what marriage is. This doesn’t say anything about gay marriage. It states a truth: Marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Rep. Beverly Marrero, D-Memphis, said Dunn’s amendment “seems like piling on.”
“This is someone you think is an easy target. I think it’s for political purposes, and I think it’s discriminatory,” she said.
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See House Joint Resolution 0990 at:
Tennessee General Assembly: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/