A judge in Tennessee ruled recently that a state does not have to accept as valid a same-sex “marriage” performed legally in another state.
The Aug. 5 ruling in Roan County Circuit Court in Kingston, Tenn., breaks a string of more than two dozen state and federal rulings declaring marriage a civil right that cannot be denied same-sex couples since the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013.
Fundamental right
Judge Russell Simmons Jr. agreed that “marriage is a fundamental right,” but he said neither the Tennessee nor U.S. Supreme Court has ever decided whether that right extends beyond the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman.
Until that happens, the judge determined, Tennessee’s ban on same-sex “marriage” and state recognition of already-existing marriages does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment or Article 4 of the U.S. Constitution providing that “full faith and credit shall be given in each state in the public acts, records, and judicial proceeding of every other state.”
Simmons said, “The battle has not been whether or not marriage is a fundamental right but what unions are included in the definition of marriage. (That) should be the prerogative of each state” in order “to provide a framework of laws to govern the safety and well-being of its citizens.”
(ABP)
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