Posted on 02/21/2005 11:11:38 PM PST by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
NASHVILLE -- House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh may not like it, but he has no plans to fight a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Tennessee.
``Any resolution like this is bad public policy,'' said Naifeh, a Democrat from Covington. ``But it has overwhelming support, so I'm not going to stand in the way and get run over by that train.''
Tennessee law already defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but lawmakers are trying to prevent courts from allowing gay marriages in other states from being recognized here.
The legislature approved the ban last session by a simple majority, and now needs a two-thirds majority this session before the question can be put to voters on a gubernatorial ballot.
So far, the bill is getting little resistance. Both the Senate Judiciary and House Children and Family Affairs committees approved the legislation earlier this week with only a few voices of dissent.
Rep. Johnny Shaw is another Democrat who doesn't agree with the bill, but is backing it anyway.
``I'm going to support it because it's a political issue that a lot of folks have gotten all involved in, and feel like it's going to make them heroes,'' said Shaw, who is also a minister. ``But I have been preaching the gospel for 24 years, and if the Bible don't change a man's heart, legislation is not going to change it.''
A small number of lawmakers say the ban is an attempt to write discrimination into the state constitution, and they are refusing to support it.
``I was at the constitutional convention in 1977, and I was very proud that convention finally repealed from the constitution a section that didn't allow people of different races to marry,'' said Sen. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis. ``It's about 28 years later, and I don't see any reason to write discrimination back into our constitution.''
Rep. Beverly Marrero, another Memphis Democrat, said she's also against ``altering the constitution'' and ``doing anything that takes away the rights from a minority of citizens in our community.''
But the bills' Republican sponsors -- Sen. Jeff Miller of Cleveland and Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville -- said their intention is not to discriminate, but provide a more definitive description of marriage.
``It goes beyond something that is quoted in the Bible,'' Dunn said. ``I think it's good for the state to have a policy that encourages a man and a woman to come together and be the very foundation of our society.''
Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Tennessee, said lawmakers are actually defeating their own purpose.
``They're choosing to exclude a group of people and choosing to prohibit them from creating legally recognized, loving nurturing relationships,'' Weinberg said. ``I think it's a sad day in Tennessee when we see our elected officials willing to discriminate against a group of people.''
Melissa Snarr, an assistant professor of society and ethics at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, said it's tragic that lawmakers are even focusing on this issue right now.
``There're a hand full of biblical references on human sexuality, but there are hundreds on economic injustice,'' Snarr said. ``But you don't see anybody rallying for a constitutional ban on poverty.''
Nonetheless, most lawmakers expect the bill to get the required support for passage.
``We've heard the voices of the people; we've debated the issue,'' said Rep. John DeBerry, a Memphis Democrat and chairman of the Children and Family Affairs Committee, which approved the bill. ``It passed last year, and I think it will this year.''
(Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News.")
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As well it should be!
If he's been preaching the gospel for 24 years he should know his bible well enough to know that almost everything the democrats stand for is anti-christian. How can he call himself a Christian and a democrat. The two are mutually exclusive.
(Oops, he never actually calls himself a Christian does he. I wonder why?
Lets see now. All of these people have the exact same rights as I do to marry any person of the opposite sex who will have them. How are they being discriminated against?
I think Hedy has it's head where the sun don't shine.
Proof that they don't care about the Divine at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Maybe they were named after the confection?
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