#obergefell-v-hodges

#obergefell-v-hodges

On Thursday, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed House Bill 1473, a measure that asserts private citizens and organizations in the state are not bound by the Fourteenth Amendment or by the Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges when it comes to recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples. The bill also shields people from professional discipline if they refuse to officiate or celebrate weddings or commitment ceremonies that fall outside Tennessee's statutory definition of marriage.

If the Supreme Court reverses Obergefell and determines bans against marriage equality are not unconstitutional, states with laws protecting same-sex couples' right to marry would need to independently overturn their laws for it to be banned. Those with constitutional amendments protecting marriage equality would have to call a referendum vote to overturn them, and those protected by state Supreme Court rulings - the next highest authority after the U.S. Supreme Court -would need their state's court to agree to hear the case again.