March 13, 2016

Contact:  Chris Sanders, (615) 390-5252, [email protected]

Nashville, TN--The Tennessee General Assembly's House Civil Justice Subcommittee is set to consider HB2379 on Wednesday at 3:00.  The bill by Rep. Micah VanHuss limits the persons who may solemnize marriage to ministers, pastors, rabbis, priests, and other spiritual leaders and removes all existing authorization for public officials in official capacity to solemnize marriage.

"Sadly some legislators are taking their opposition to the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges marriage ruling to the extreme," noted TEP executive director Chris Sanders. "This bill would actually have the effect of making it harder for different-sex couples to get married.  Many couples are not religious or one prospective spouse may not be.  Many couples are of different religions and may not wish to show preference to one of their faith traditions by picking a member of the clergy.  From a practical and a constitutional point of view, the bill is a disaster."

More than 400 people have expressed opposition to the bill so far at this link:  https://ujoin.org/campaigns/110/actions/public?action_id=105 .

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