Judge overturns Tennessee ban on same-sex ‘marriage’: true marriage laws are historical ‘footnotes’
ATLANTA, GA, March 17, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A federal judge on Friday issued an injunction temporarily blocking enforcement of Tennessee’s constitutional ban on same-sex “marriage,” noting in her decision that she believes laws defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman will soon be nothing more than historical “footnotes.”
“At this point, all signs indicate that, in the eyes of the United States Constitution, [same-sex] marriages will be placed on an equal footing with those of heterosexual couples and that proscriptions against same-sex marriage will soon become a footnote in the annals of American history,” wrote Judge Aleta Trauger.
Trauger’s order means that the state must recognize – at least for now – the “marriages” of three homosexual couples who married in states where the practice is legal and have sued to overturn the 2006 ban. The order currently applies only to those directly involved in the case.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s office released a statement condemning the decision. “The governor is disappointed that the court has stepped in when Tennesseans have voted clearly on this issue,” said Haslam’s spokesman David Smith.
Republican State Sen. Mike Bell agreed. "I am saddened that a federal judge has chosen to, at least in a narrow way, overturn the will of over 81% of the people of the state of Tennessee who voted to define marriage as between a man and a woman," said Bell. "I am hoping the higher courts will overturn this activist judge's ruling."
Trauger is just the latest federal judge to force same-sex “marriage” legalization upon a conservative state where it was previously banned.
Last month, Judge Arenda Wright Allen struck down Virginia’s ban on gay nuptials, proclaiming, “We have arrived upon another moment in history when 'We the People' becomes more inclusive, and our freedom more perfect.”
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Judge John Heyburn II ordered the state to begin recognizing out-of-state homosexual “marriages” immediately. And in December, Judge Robert Shelby overturned Utah’s same-sex “marriage” ban, arguing that laws defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman “demean the dignity of … same-sex couples for no rational reason.”
Allen and Shelby are both Obama appointees. Heyburn was appointed by President George H.W. Bush. Trauger is an appointee of President Bill Clinton.
David Fowler, president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, said Trauger’s decision "clearly signaled her intent to continue the war by unelected federal judges against the rights of states and the citizens of that state to determine what its policies regarding marriage should be." He urged state Attorney General Robert Cooper, a Democrat, to continue fighting to defend the ban.
But in the face of overwhelming intimidation tactics by gay activists, the Obama administration, and the federal judiciary, an increasing number of attorneys general – six Democrats and one Republican, so far – have refused to do so. In Virginia, Attorney General Mark Herring even joined the case against his own state in seeking to overturn the voter-approved ban on gay “marriage.”
Meanwhile, the Obama Department of Justice has promised state attorneys that when it comes to same-sex “marriage,” they won’t be held legally responsible for abandoning their defense of legitimately enacted laws “they feel are discriminatory.”
Contact:
Attorney General Robert Cooper
Office of the Attorney General and Reporter
P.O. Box 20207
Nashville, TN 37202-0207
Telephone: (615) 741-3491
Fax: (615) 741-2009
Office of the Attorney General and Reporter
P.O. Box 20207
Nashville, TN 37202-0207
Telephone: (615) 741-3491
Fax: (615) 741-2009
