Same-sex marriage in Tennessee


Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Tennessee became legal with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. That day, Governor Bill Haslam announced the state would follow the judicial order, and same-sex couples began to marry in Tennessee.

Same-sex marriage

Statute

In 1996, Tennessee enacted a statutory ban on same-sex marriage. This ban was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 26, 2015.

Constitution

On May 6, 2004, the state House of Representatives approved by a vote of 85-5 Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. On May 19, the state Senate approved it by a vote of 28-1. The next year, on February 28, 2005, the Senate approved it by a vote of 29-3. On March 17, the House approved it by a vote of 88-7. On November 7, 2006, Tennessee voters approved the amendment by a vote of 81.3% to 18.7%.

Traditional Marriage Day

On March 25, 2013, the Tennessee Senate voted 32-0 in favor of a non-binding resolution making August 31 "Traditional Marriage Day" in Tennessee. On April 18, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted 89-0 in favor of the resolution. Governor Bill Haslam signed the resolution into law on May 2.

Federal lawsuit

''Tanco v. Haslam''

On October 21, 2013, the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court on behalf of several same-sex couples in Tennessee. The case, Tanco v. Haslam, sought to require the state to recognize their marriages established in California and New York. On March 14, 2014, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger granted a preliminary injunction requiring the state to recognize the marriages of the plaintiff couples. The state defendants appealed Tanco to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which granted a stay. A three-judge panel heard oral arguments in the case on August 6, 2014, along with same-sex marriage cases originating from Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky. The Sixth Circuit ultimately ruled in favor of the states and upheld the bans on November 6, 2014.
Tanco was incorporated into Obergefell v. Hodges and decided along with several other Sixth Circuit court cases related to the legality of state bans on same-sex marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2015. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit's judgment and struck down Tennessee's ban.

After ''Obergefell v. Hodges''

Legislation

On January 20, 2016, a House subcommittee rejected a bill, the Natural Marriage Defense Act, which sought to overrule the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The bill died in a 4-1 vote. Representative Mike Carter had concerns over the legal basis for ignoring the Supreme Court's ruling, labeling it "nullification". Carter was joined by another Republican and two Democrats in rejecting the bill.
On February 8, 2017, the Natural Marriage Defense Act was reintroduced to the Tennessee General Assembly. The bill was sponsored by 13 lawmakers, all Republicans. According to legislative analysts, the bill would have cost the state over 9 million U.S. dollars if approved. Opponents argued the bill was unconstitutional and a violation of Obergefell. On March 29, a House subcommittee decided to delay debate on the bill until at least 2018. In January 2018, the bill was withdrawn. It was reintroduced in February 2019, but died without a vote in either the House or Senate.

Status of counties

Initially, the following Tennessee counties did not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples: Decatur, Grundy, Marion, Obion and Warren, but all of them have since relented.
By June 30, 2015, all of Tennessee's 95 counties were either issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples or had announced their willingness to do so.

Legal challenges

In January 2016, a conservative lawyer filed a lawsuit in Williamson County seeking to stop same-sex marriages in Tennessee. A similar lawsuit was filed in Bradley County in February.
In June 2016, a Williamson County judge, while declaring his personal opposition to Obergefell v. Hodges, dismissed the lawsuit filed in January. The judge determined that the plaintiffs could not show they had been harmed by the Obergefell ruling. This decision was upheld by the Tennessee Court of Appeals in May 2018. The court's opinion said: "None of the citizen plaintiffs alleged that they were denied a marriage license; instead, they complain of the issuance of marriage license to others."
The Bradley County lawsuit, which was originally filed by David Fowler, on behalf of a local pastor and a county commissioner, sought to prevent the county clerk from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Fowler accused the Supreme Court of "usurping" the Tennessee General Assembly's right to define marriage, and that because it has yet to modify its marriage-related laws, all marriages performed since Obergefell are invalid. The county clerk had requested that the case be dismissed. A hearing on whether to dismiss the lawsuit was held in December 2017. In March 2018, House Republicans killed a proposed bill to ban child marriages due to opposition from the Family Action Council which feared that the bill could interfere with their lawsuit. The move received considerable media coverage. Representative Darren Jernigan, the bill's main sponsor, said: "Basically, what has happened is the Family Action Council wants to continue to let 13-year-olds get married in the state at the sake of their court case against same-sex couples. It's disgraceful. I'm embarrassed for the State of Tennessee, and I can only pray that we bring this back next year and not let them get in the way." The bill was revived due to political pressure, passed, and signed into law in May 2018 by Governor Haslam, preventing anyone younger than 17 from marrying in Tennessee. Eventually, the case was dismissed by a circuit court judge in March 2019. According to the Cleveland Daily Banner, the lawsuit cost the county between 15,000 and 70,000 dollars.
In June 2019, a video was revealed showing Craig Northcott, district attorney for Coffee County, saying that he intended to prosecute assaults within same-sex marriages as regular assaults, not as domestic assaults. Northcott's reason was rooted in his personal opinion. He said that enhanced charges were introduced "to recognize and protect the sanctity of marriage. And I said there's no marriage to protect . So I don't prosecute them as domestics."
In December 2019, a group of Christian ministers filed a lawsuit alleging the state is violating the Tennessee Constitution by issuing marriage certificates to same-sex couples. The suit has no chance of succeeding, as the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry under Obergefell.

Resolutions of support/opposition

In September 2015, the Greene County Commission passed a resolution expressing opposition to same-sex marriage. Similar resolutions were subsequently approved in the counties of Carter, Dickson, Hawkins, Johnson, McMinn, Morgan, Sullivan and Unicoi. Hamblen and Washington counties rejected such resolutions. Davidson County, on the other hand, approved a resolution expressing support for same-sex marriage and asked state lawmakers to reject anti-gay bills.
On March 3, 2016, the state House passed a resolution expressing opposition and disagreement with the Supreme Court ruling. The resolution was approved in a 73-18 vote.

Marriage statistics

From June 26, 2015 to early February 2016, 101 same-sex marriage licenses were issued in Hamilton County, accounting for 7% of all licenses. Neighboring counties including Bradley and Rhea issued 12 and 3, respectively.
2018 estimates from the United States Census Bureau showed that there were about 18,000 same-sex households in Tennessee. The Bureau estimated that 52% of these couples were married.

Domestic partnerships

Certain jurisdictions in Tennessee provide for the creation of private domestic partnership contracts agreements. Governor Bill Haslam and State House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick both said there was no huge demand for domestic partnerships in Tennessee.

Collegedale

In August 2013, the Collegedale City Commission voted 4-1 in favor of allowing domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. The ordinance went into effect on January 1, 2014.

Knoxville

In October 2013, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero created a domestic partnership program for the city. It went into effect on January 1, 2014.

Chattanooga

On November 12, 2013, the Chattanooga City Council voted 5-4 in favor of allowing domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. On November 19, 2013, the City Council in a final vote voted 5-3 in favor of allowing domestic partnership benefits.
Before the domestic partnership ordinance went into effect, the Citizens for Government Accountability and Transparency, a local segment of the Tea Party, gathered enough signatures to put a repeal of the ordinance to a popular vote in August 2014. The City Council did not repeal the ordinance on its own, allowing the vote to proceed on August 7, the general election date for Hamilton County.
A December 2013 Multi-Quest poll found that 53% Chattanooga registers voters opposed the city ordinance allowing domestic partnerships and adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to the city's nondiscrimination policy, while 37% supported.
On August 7, 2014, the voters of Chattanooga repealed the ordinance by a vote of 62.58% in favor and 37.42% against.

Nashville and Davidson County

On June 17, 2014, the Metro Council voted 27-7, in a third and final reading, in favor of allowing domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples in the city of Nashville and Davidson County. On June 25, 2014, Mayor Karl Dean signed the ordinance.

Public opinion

Opinion polls of Tennessee registered voters were periodically conducted by Vanderbilt University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the Public Religion Research Institute.
According to a January 2011 Vanderbilt survey, 27% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, while 69% opposed. Another Vanderbilt poll conducted in May 2013 showed 32% of Tennessee voters as supporting same-sex marriage, 17% civil unions but not marriage, and 46% opposed to either type of legal recognition. Voters under age 30 were overwhelmingly more likely to support one of these types of legal recognition. When the same survey asked about domestic partner benefits, 62% expressed support and 31% opposition.
A Middle Tennessee State University survey, conducted in March 2013, found that 28% of respondents supported same-sex marriage and 62% were opposed. A similar poll from January 2014 showed 26% support and 64% opposition, while a poll from January 2015 showed 32% support and 55% opposition. Another MTSU opinion poll, conducted in November 2015 after the legalization of same-sex marriage, found support at 29% and opposition at 57%.
A Vanderbilt poll from November 2016 found support for same-sex marriage at 32% and opposition at 45%.
A PRRI survey from 2016 showed that 46% of Tennesseans supported same-sex marriage, whereas 43% were opposed, the first time a poll found more support than opposition. A similar survey from 2017 showed 46% support and 45% opposition.