Posted on 03/18/2006 2:17:48 PM PST by mathprof
The Tennessee Supreme Court will decide whether a proposed anti-gay marriage amendment to the Tennessee Constitution should be pulled from the November ballot.
The decision follows last month's ruling by Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, who ruled against the American Civil Liberties Union, clearing the way for voters to decide whether the state constitution should be amended to ban gay marriage.
Lyle was not asked to decide the merits of gay marriage, only whether voters were given legally required notice about the amendment.
The ACLU and a group of gay and lesbian plaintiffs have until April 4 to file their initial briefs to the state's highest court. The defendants, represented by the state attorney general's office and conservative groups against gay marriage, have 20 days to respond. Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard June 7.
"We're pleased to have the opportunity to present our case to the Tennessee Supreme Court," said ACLU Executive Director Hedy Weinberg.
The ACLU and gay and lesbian groups say the state provided 4½ months' notice of the amendment, not the six months state law requires. The state and others argue that wide media coverage provided the public plenty of notice.
The decision to take the case should not be interpreted as a sign that the state's highest court plans to overturn the lower court's ruling and pull the proposal off the ballot, a lawyer representing a conservative rights organization fighting the ACLU said.
"The court's reaching down to take the case makes sense in light of the time constraints, and I read nothing into that regarding the merits of the case," said Byron Babione of the Alliance Defense Fund.
Same-sex marriages are illegal in Tennessee, but opponents want to strengthen that ban by amending the state constitution. •
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
God forbid that the people would actually have the chance to vote on it.
In Tennessee, you can marry if you have the same parents, but not if you have the same gender. It's the law of the hills.
Sometimes it is best top be goverened by what is normal and natural. Natural is the key consideration. Sure, we can make it legal for chickens to marry zebras, but it wouldn't be natural. It's just as unnatural for a man to "marry" a man or a woman to "marry" a woman.
If a person is so twiswted in their mind that their sex drive is opposite to billions of people who came before him or her, do you want his finger on the nuclear trigger? Or teaching your kid? Or living next door?
They are not called sex perverts for nothing.
How can I be so sure? There are some things I just know.
List?
The day gay marriage comes to a state like Tennessee is the day that all is truely lost. It's time to retreat to a fortified compound in the Ozarks.
Knowing nothing of the makeup of the Tennessee Supremes, I'd hope they reflect the sound values of the people of the state and not be agenda driven.
They can only do it through the courts, since it will never even come close to passing in Tennessee. A victory for the liberals would be to hold the margin under 75%.
"In Tennessee, you can marry if you have the same parents, but not if you have the same gender. It's the law of the hills."
Are you from Tennessee? Those kinds of accusations really aren't needed or appreciated here.
what is so unnatural about love? people have the right in this country to pursue happiness, even if it isnt the same kind of happiness you agree with. you have no right to opress anyone unless it directly affects you and unless you are gay, it doesnt. mind your own damn business and stop trying to make everyone live like you do.
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