Bredesen upset over abortion, civil unions legislation

Kyle Hutchison

Kyle Hutchison

The Senate passed a bill late Wednesday that bans homosexual civil unions and also approved a resolution to amend the state constitution, ensuring that abortion rights are not guaranteed in Tennessee. Both items still face more legislative action.

The measures are politically motivated, Bredesen said.

“It bothers me a little bit that at a time when we have so many serious issues, that these kind of wedge-divisive issues are getting the kind of attention and play in the Senate that they have,” the governor said Thursday.

“I particularly don’t like the idea of messing around with the constitution in a political year,” said Bredesen, a Democrat. “We have a wonderful constitution in the state of Tennessee that really has withstood the test of time.”

Sen. David Fowler, R-Signal Mountain, first introduced his abortion resolution in 2001 after the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2000 overturned several state laws restricting access to the procedure. The court found the laws violated privacy rights in the state constitution.

“A wedge issue simply means an issue where you are going against the majority opinion in the culture,” Fowler said. “The Democrats are having a hard time explaining why they believe innocent babies should be killed and traditional marriage should not be supported. That is not where most Tennesseans are, so it is a wedge issue (for Democrats).”

The civil unions bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland, is not needed because Tennessee already has a law that bans homosexual marriages, Bredesen said.

“Again, it’s one of those wedge issues that people are trying to use as a way to divide the world into the ‘us’ and the ‘them,’ which has never been particularly my style,” said Bredesen.

The governor said he does not support gay marriage, but would not say whether he would veto or sign the civil unions ban if it reached his desk. The bill must first be revived in the House on a two-thirds majority vote.

Fowler’s constitutional resolution on abortion rights does not require Bredesen’s signature. The governor said most of the approximately 20 resolutions this session to amend the state constitution have not survived the Legislature’s committees.

The resolution has not been assigned to a House subcommittee.

“When the constitution is changed, I think it ought to be something that’s done with great consideration over a period of time and definitely not to be part of electioneering in an election year,” Bredesen said.

To appear on the 2006 gubernatorial ballot, the resolution must be approved by simple majority this year by the General Assembly and by the 104th General Assembly, which convenes in 2005, by a two-thirds majority.
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On the Net:
Tennessee General Assembly: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us
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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com