TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 28, 2017

The Tennessee Senate voted 23-6 yesterday to assign “natural and ordinary meaning” to terms in state law, drawing criticism from LGBT groups who view the bill as discriminatory, the Tennessean reports. The bill fails to define what terms it seeks to clarify, but resembles a similar previous measure that singled out terms like “husband” and “wife.” Sen. John Stevens (R-Huntingdon) said the bill was designed to compel courts to side with Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissenting opinion in the landmark same-sex marriage ruling. The House approved the measure last month, so it now heads to Gov. Bill Haslam’s desk for approval.