Tennessee Marriage Amendment Challenged
Tennessee’s proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage faces a lawsuit claiming that procedural requirements were violated, rendering the amendment unconstitutional.
Tennessee’s proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage faces challenges on the way to the ballot. A lawsuit was filed on Thursday, stating that the proposed amendment is unconstitutional because the state did not comply with proper notification requirements.
The controversial amendment defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Although state law already defines traditional marriage, legislators sought a constitutional amendment to protect the law from activist judges.
The measure passed with strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, and is scheduled for a public vote in the November 2006 elections. However, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit saying that procedural requirements have been violated and the amendment should not be allowed to go on the ballot.
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In order to amend the state constitution, an amendment must be approved by two consecutive General Assemblies and a public vote. A majority vote is required in the first General Assembly and a two-thirds vote is required in the second General Assembly. The amendment has received the necessary approval by both General Assemblies to qualify for a public vote.
The crux of the lawsuit lies on when the text was made available for public viewing. The state constitution requires the text to be published in newspapers at least six months before the next General Assembly election. The amendment, however, was not published until June 20, 2004, less than four and a half months prior to the November 2004 elections.
Melody Fowler Green, an attorney for ACLU working on the case, commented that the requirement to publish the text 6 months prior to the election allows citizens to debate and decide on who they want to vote into office based on the issues.
“Failure to meet the six month publication requirement renders the proposal unconstitutional and invalidates the amending process,” said Fowler-Green. She and Abby Rubenfeld of Rubenfeld Law Office argue that the amendment should not be placed on the 2006 ballot.
Supporters of the amendment defended the state, saying that all procedural requirements were fulfilled. They attributed the lawsuit to a last-ditch effort to block the amendment, and expect the measure to stand up under the court challenge.
The case was filed in the Chancery Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, under the title ACLU of Tennessee, et al. v. Darnell, et al. Joining the ACLU in the lawsuit are the Tennessee Equality Project, a gay-rights activist group, and State Representatives Larry Turner, Beverly Robison Marrero, and Tommie Brown.
