Tennessee AG rules state has no law against civil unions

The opinion Wednesday by Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers will not prevent efforts next year to pass a law prohibiting same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships, said state Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland.

Civil union opponents say they are worried homosexuals will attempt to sue for rights and have a Tennessee court recognize them.

“It will be a cruel joke to most Tennesseans if civil unions slide in through the back door without us doing something about it,” said Miller, who sponsored an anti-civil union measure that failed in the House this year.

Summers, the state’s highest-ranking lawyer, said he based his opinion on Tennessee’s 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. The act defines marriage as taking place between one man and one woman.

Tennessee’s constitution also does not allow same-sex civil unions. Gov. Phil Bredesen has said Miller’s bill is not needed because the state already has a law that bans homosexual marriages.

Maria Salas, a Nashville attorney, said the issue is one of equality for gays and lesbians.

“It was not necessary to have a specific piece of discriminatory legislation. Nobody likes to be beat on,” said Salas, a member of the Metro Human Relations Commission and a board member of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian political organization.

Civil unions and domestic partnerships were not defined in the proposed legislation, but Summers defined them as legal relationships that grant the same rights, privileges and responsibilities of marriage. They can include inheritance and property rights, hospital visitation and medical decisions.

“If somebody’s partner is hit by a drunk driver on the way home tonight, they would not have any rights to Social Security benefits or inheritance or rights to sue under a wrongful death lawsuit like a husband or wife would,” Salas said.

Same-sex couples can receive some rights for each other through legal documents called powers of attorney.

The attorney general’s opinion was requested by state Rep. Sherry Jones, D-Nashville, chairwoman of the House Domestic Relations subcommittee that killed the bill March 24 by a 5-4 vote.

Jones said she was concerned the bill would prohibit private employers from voluntarily extending domestic partnership benefits. Summers’ opinion said it would not.

The opinion also said Miller’s bill would be constitutional if it becomes law.

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Information from: The Tennessean, http://www.tennessean.com