In a decision that has broken a
chain of judicial losses for those who support marriage between one man and one
woman, a judge has ruled that Tennessee’s amendment banning legal recognition
of same-sex marriage is constitutional. The
ruling is the first that has found the U.S. Constitution does not protect
same-sex marriage … since the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision
overturning the federal Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA) in June 2013.
The Christian Post reported that Roane County Circuit Court Judge
Russell E. Simmons, Jr. ruled last week in Borman
v. Pyles-Borman against the claim that the state constitutional ban on
same-sex marriage violates the ‘Equal Protection Clause’ of the U.S.
Constitution.
The case actually involves two gay
men who were legally married in IA in 2010 (but live in TN) and now wish to be
divorced. IA, however, requires that to
be granted a divorce, the plaintiff must establish residency in the state for a
minimum period of time.
Citing the 1972 decision by the MN
Supreme Court in the case Baker v. Nelson
that the U.S. Constitution does not protect “a fundamental right” for same-sex
couples to get married, Judge Simmons wrote, “Baker holds that a state’s law on
same-sex marriage does not violate the equal protection or substantive due
process rights under the U.S. Constitution.”
“Although SCOTUS has had opportunities to overrule the Baker decision,
it has refused to take that position even in the decision on which the
plaintiff relies, which is United States
v. Windsor,” Simmons continued.
Though Simmons’ decision did not
comment on the constitutionality of state-level same-sex marriage bans, a
string of judges across the country have decided that some state bans violate
the U.S. Constitution.
In 2006, the citizens of TN, as well
as those of other states, voted to approve a constitutional ban on same-sex
marriage. The ballot initiative, known
as ‘Amendment 1,’ passed with an overwhelming majority of 81% of voters. (VA, WI, SD, SC, ID and CO also passed similar
bans against same-sex marriages.)
Judge Simmons continued in his
Memorandum Opinion:
“In the Windsor case the Supreme Court opines that if a
state finds same-sex marriage to be valid, the Federal Government cannot trump
that State’s law. The Supreme Court does
not go the final step and find that a State that defines marriages as a union
of one (1) man and one (1) woman is unconstitutional. Further, the Supreme Court does not find that
one state’s refusal to accept as valid another States [sic] valid same-sex
marriage to be in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The State also takes the position that the
laws and Constitution of Tennessee do not deny equal protection, because they
do not burden a fundamental right, target a suspect class, or intentionally
treat one differently than others similarly situated without any rational basis
… The Court finds that marriage is a
fundamental right, however, neither the Tennessee Supreme Court nor the United
States Supreme Court has ever decided that this fundamental right under a
state’s laws extends beyond the traditional definition of marriage as a union
between one (1) man and one (1) woman.”
Despite the fervor with which gay
activists have seized upon the narrative that to refuse same-sex marriage is
discriminatory, and the insistence of the Obama Administration to push the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender
(LGBT) community into the spotlight at every opportunity, last month The Washington Post reported that the
National Health Interview Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that only 1.6% of respondents self-identified as gay or
lesbian; even fewer, 0.7%, self-identified as bisexual. The outcome of this study suggests that the
gay population in the U.S. is far less than perceived.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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