The Tennessee House Just Passed a Bill Completely Gutting Marriage Equality (of any sort)

[NullTuples]

It's been passed to the state Senate. But that it made it this far...

"The bill could allow county clerks to deny marriage licenses to same-sex, interfaith, or interracial couples in Tennessee. The Tennessee House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow people to refuse to perform a marriage if they disagree with it.

According to the bill, which passed Monday night, “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.”

https://newrepublic.com/post/171025/tennessee-house-bill-gutting-marriage-equality

Didn't U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning already decide that a court clerk named Kim Davis couldn't deny marriage licenses based on her personal opinion of the couple? [1]

And sure, this ignores that last December, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, but the new law in Tennessee takes advantage of religiously affiliated organizations’ long refusal to issue licenses for same-sex marriages. Is this the case or type of case that will give the conservative US Supreme Court exactly what they were asking for in Thomas's dissent in Dobbs, regarding also overturning marriage equality? [2]

[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/03/19/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-violated-rights-judge/7104110001/
[2] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256

[Karadeniz]

1. Flushing civil rights, legal equality....

[Laffy Kat]

2. OMG. Not surprised, though.

TN is joining the FL and TX insanity.

[Freethinker65]

3. Fine, as long as intolerant bigotry prevents anyone from having the job of solemnizing marriage.

Like if you can't deal with the sight of blood, you don't become a surgeon.

[Girard442]

4. On the other hand, marrying your 14-year old cousin...

[mobeau69]

7. Oh, that's alright. 🙃

[MayReasonRule]

18. That's right, and hell her younger sister is already menstruating, she's 13...

"That's a grown woman right there, I'll tell you what!
Sheeeet man, hell I'm thinking about setting her up with my brother, he's only 47..."

May reason rule.

[tavernier]

22. Exactly.

You have to be white baptists, male and female, and both must claim to be straight. No age restrictions.

[NullTuples]

26. "West Virginia Republicans Block Child Marriage Ban" - yesterday

"Wyoming Limiting Child Marriage Sparks Republican Outrage" - Feb 10th, 2023 Newsweek story headline

"Is age of consent on the Republican chopping block?" - July 19th 2022 Boston Globe story headline

"Republicans in Louisiana reject measure setting minimum age for marriage" - June 3rd 2019 Independent story headline

"Tennessee Republicans Push a Bill That Would Circumvent Marriage Age Limits" - April 22, 2022 Truthout story headline

"N.H. House kills bill that would raise minimum marriage age" - March 9, 2017 Concord Monitor story headline

And of course this gem:

"The governor of New Jersey declined to sign a measure into law on Thursday that would have made the U.S. state the first to ban child marriage without exception. Republican Chris Christie, a supporter of President Donald Trump, said such a ban would conflict with religious customs."

By the way, that's just the first page of Google news hits. There are many more...

[mobeau69]

6. Interfaith? 🤪

[NullTuples]

12. Right? It's a Golden Ticket to clerks having power over other people's lives

[LakeVermilion]

8. Question: Can individuals affected by this legislation

sue for relief from taxation, since they wouldn't be wouldn't have access to all the benefits/rights of the "chosen" taxpayers.

My belief is that if a person pays taxes, that person should be entitled to all of a society's benefits.

[sarcasmo]

9. Back to the 1920's, I will never spend another dollar in these crazy States.

[inthewind21]

10. Hate to

break it to you but, you already spend plenty. It's called taxes.

[sarcasmo]

11. Tourist dollar, I used to rent a condo in Florida and travel through these States.

[NullTuples]

23. You are so right. I live in California; 38% of TN's state funding comes from the federal government.

If I were to move there, I'd have helped fund my own misery. As it is, I have to live with knowing I am funding the misery of LGBTQ people who are stuck there.

[Takket]

13. DOA at the courts.

SCOTUS has ruled. This bill is illegal.

[NullTuples]

14. So was Roe v Wade...until it wasn't anymore.

[MayReasonRule]

20. That's our country's sordid history of enshrining malevolent delusion on a pedestal of law...

Then further aiding and abetting through the tax code, FFS.

[canetoad]

15. If this sentence is correct

“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.”

It has little to do with furnishing a marriage license, which is an administrative task. It seems to be aimed at those who actually perform the ceremony - the person who does the solemnizing.

[edhopper]

16. We no longer have a Supreme Court

that will support same sex marriage

[MayReasonRule]

19. Indeed. SCOTUS no longer functions as a legitimate court...

It's all about my (clasps genitals under robe), "closely held beliefs".

May reason rule!

[MayReasonRule]

17. Delusional mental gymnastics are being used by Tennessee legislators - of course...

https://www.memphisflyer.com/state-bill-threatens-lgbtq-marriage-here-opponents-say

Tennessee law does not now require anyone to conduct any marriage they don’t want to. But Fritts, the House bill sponsor, told the Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee Tuesday that a “big reason” he brought the bill was to help block elder abuse.

“When you look at some of the research that we have found on this, that …young folks are trying to marry older folks to get to their financial accounts,” Fritts said. “I think there are other things that we need to do.”

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"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."

This does not require a "closely held religious belief", plain prejudice will do.

Waiting for an Atheist, Agnostic, Sub Genius, or Satanic Temple clerk to refuse to certify "religious" based marriages...

Time takes time, and as always, stupid is as stupid does.

May reason rule!

[NullTuples]

24. Tennessee is a small state. I'm guessing those jobs are only held by the right "kind" of person

...in most counties.

Even here in California, there can be...familial and religious dynasties when it comes to who gets hired in some of our small, red counties.

[MayReasonRule]

25. Indeed, it may be that is the case

There might be one or more well connected individuals with enough pull to achieve that in a "red state".

Not going to hold my breath in anticipation though...

Nonetheless, I'd dearly love to see someone pull that off!

Time will tell, it always does.

[spanone]

21. My state has weaponized the legislative body. Metro Council rejected the GOP convention in Nashville

THIS IS REVENGE POLITICS ON FULL DISPLAY.