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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A bill that would amend Tennessee Law so that individuals and organizations cannot be compelled to recognize same sex marriages will be heard in the House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee on February 3rd, 2026.
Sponsored by Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61), House Bill 1473 (HB1473) would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-3-113, by adding a new subsection.
According to the bill’s text, the proposed legislation would read, “Private citizens and organizations are not bound by the Fourteenth Amendment or by the Supreme Court’s purported interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), and no private citizen or organization in this state is required to recognize a marriage or a purported marriage between individuals of the same sex, notwithstanding any other law.”
In addition, the legislation would prohibit the Tennessee Judiciary board from disciplining, sanctioning, or threatening to discipline or sanction any person for “declining to celebrate or officiate at a marriage or commitment ceremony” that falls outside the state’s definition of marriage which explicitly classifies the institution as between one man an one woman.
Bulso has stated that his bill would protect individuals and private entities who are not going to be “compelled to do something to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Tennesseans passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 defining marriage as between a man and a woman only. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage in 2015.
Bulso says the 2015 decision was a federal overreach and that the justices “used an interpretation of the 14th Amendment to accomplish what they couldn’t accomplish legislatively.”
Contact information for the members of the House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee can be found below.
Rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.clay.doggett@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.torrey.harris@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov; rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov; rep.gino.bulso@capitol.tn.gov; rep.clay.doggett@capitol.tn.gov; rep.torrey.harris@capitol.tn.gov; rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov; rep.joe.towns@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
