Tennessee Republicans pass bill allowing marriage discrimination toward same-sex couples

The push to allow people to discriminate is strong in Tennessee, where the state senate approved a bill on Monday that could potentially allow individuals to refuse to officiate marriages based on their personal beliefs, including objections to LGBTQ+ weddings. The legislation, Senate Bill 596, declares that “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.”

The bill, championed by Republican state Rep. Monty Fritts, claims to “protect the rights of the officiate or officiates of wedding ceremonies,” though Tennessee law already permits individuals to decline to officiate at marriages if they choose.

Critics argue this legislation could lead to broader discrimination, particularly affecting LGBTQ+ and interracial couples. Eric Patton, a Tennessee minister, previously voiced concerns to Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN, highlighting the bill’s potential for enabling discrimination “against anybody for any reason,” which he deemed “Tennessee nonsense” that is” just wrong-headed.”

The proposal comes as part of a more considerable effort by the state’s Republican-majority legislature to enact policies that have been criticized for targeting the LGBTQ+ community. This legislative move follows Tennessee’s introduction of more anti-LGBTQ laws than any other state last year, as noted by the Human Rights Campaign and Tennessee Equality Project. Tennessee has been described as an “innovator” in anti-LGBTQ policies by Cathryn Oakley, director of legal policy at the Human Rights Campaign, with the state responsible for 29 of over 415 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures to date this year, HuffPost reports.

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The legislation’s progression occurs amidst ongoing national debates over marriage equality, which was federally guaranteed in 2015 through the U.S. Supreme Court’sObergefell v. Hodges decision. According to Gallup, last year saw the most robust support of Americans for same-sex marriage, with 71 percent of those questioned responding in favor of it. The Respect for Marriage Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, further cemented protections for same-sex and interracial marriages despite criticisms that it panders to religious organizations by allowing exceptions for them to refuse to marry same-sex couples.

Currently, only North Carolina and Mississippi have laws that enable state and local officials to refuse to officiate marriages that conflict with their personal beliefs.

The bill now goes to the state’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, who will likely sign it.