NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral arguments June 7 in a lawsuit that could keep that state’s proposed constitutional marriage amendment off the ballot in November.
At issue is whether the state Legislature — which placed the amendment on the ballot — published the text of the amendment in time as required by the state constitution. The American Civil Liberties Union — which brought the suit — contends that the amendment was not published six months prior to the election.
But the Tennessee attorney general, as well as a lawyer for the conservative legal group Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), contends the amendment was published on the Internet and that news about the amendment had been broadcast on TV and radio news across the state. “Once it was put on the Web site, media outlets published it,” ADF attorney Byron Babione told the justices, according to the Nashville City Paper. The amendment would prevent state courts from forcing Tennessee to recognize “gay marriages” from other states.
The Volunteer State is one of seven states scheduled to vote on amendments this year. Alabama, one of those seven, passed its amendment June 6.
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