The Tennessee legislature has approved Senate Bill 596, which will allow any officiants – including government officials – to decline to perform weddings between LGBTQ or interracial couples. The bill passed the House last year and was approved in the state Senate Monday evening along party lines. The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Bill Lee (R) to be signed into law. https://twitter.com/Tennessean/status/1757540189025567177 The bill’s text reads:
“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 also amends Tennessee Code Section 36-3-301, which applies to public government officials, including county clerks who handle marriage licenses. The legislation would allow those individuals, too, to refuse to “solemnize” a marriage based on their own religious convictions. In other words, a county clerk could refuse to process the filing of a marriage license. Since 2015, more than a dozen anti-LGBTQ bills have become law in Tennessee. https://twitter.com/GeneBryant2/status/1757359446571852062
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