Lawyer Claims Tennessee Clerks are Violating State Constitution
February 5th, 2020
A lawyer on behalf of a conservative organization recently sent a letter to all 95 Tennessee county clerks arguing that they violated the state constitution by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. While the Supreme Court in its 2015 Obergefell decision ruled that same-sex marriages must be recognized by every state, there are still a number of challenges each year to this decision.
The Basis of the Letter
In the letter, the attorney argues that Tennessee state clerks are violating Title XI Section of the Tennessee Constitution. This section of the state’s constitution dictates that the relationship between one man and one woman is the only type of legally recognized marriage contract in the state. The statute also notes that any laws or policies attempting to challenge this regulation are void and unenforceable in the state of Tennessee. The lawyer wrote the letter on the representation of a group of 11 Christian Ministers who argue that issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples is a “grave civil rights issue.”
The lawyer, who is a former state senator, has previously initiated multiple lawsuits against other Tennessee counties on similar grounds. For example, the lawyer filed a similar letter in Tennessee’s Williamson County arguing that the Obergefell decision invalidated all state marriage laws. Many of these cases have since been dismissed, including one that was discussed in this blog on June 26th of 2019.
Tennessee and the Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriage
Following the 2015 Obergefell decision, Tennessee’s former Governor Haslam announced that the state would follow the decision. State Attorney General Slatery also previously commented that Tennessee must follow the decision in spite of this section of the Tennessee state constitution.
Despite this history of the state accepting the Obergefell decision, the concept of nullification still exists. Nullification refers to the concept that states can ignore federal laws or pass state laws that supersede federal ones. Since 2015, some people have argued that Obergefell only applies to the Sixth Circuit where the case arose. This argument, however, has largely been invalidated because the decision was a constitutional ruling rather than a statutory decision. Other parties have argued that the only way that states could lawfully circumvent the Court’s decision would be to stop issuing marriage licenses at all.
Response to This Decision
The letter has been met with criticism by several groups throughout Tennessee. For one, the Tennessee Equality Project organization stated that the lawyer’s letter represents an effort to defy the United States Constitution. More specifically, the organization argues that the attorney is ignoring the meaning of both the 2015 Obergefell decision as well the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the letter.
The Universal Life Church
There are many people who feel passionately about LGBTQ rights, including people who identify as LGBTQ as well as religious rights groups. The Universal Life Church seeks to keep readers engaged in these issues through this blog. We focus on fairly describing the arguments presented by both sides involved in these cases.
