NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Members of the Tennessee House Republican Caucus are considering a special legislative session to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding same-sex marriage.
House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada of Franklin says that a special session "is on the table" to discuss a proposal that would protect ministers who choose not to perform a gay wedding.
“The Supreme Court, violating the tenth amendment, now has said, ‘States you now must recognize this new right,’ which doesn’t exist in the Constitution. So a lot of legislators are thinking ‘Well we better start putting things into law that protects the first amendment, even though it’s an obvious…that it should be protected, it can’t be taken for granted.”
Meanwhile, Gwen Schablik with the Tennessee Equality Project says LGBT activists are already looking ahead to new issues important to the gay community; including housing and employment protections.
“In the State of Tennessee, it’s a fire-at-will state and somebody could get married on Saturday and come in on Monday morning, present their marriage certificate and a wedding photo and they could be fired. So that is not full equality.”
Shablick will be asking Tennessee legislators to address those issues during the next session of the General Assembly.