Bill To Ensure Religious Freedom And Protections For TN Clergy Pushed Until 2024
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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
The Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee deferred a bill that would protect officiants from being forced to perform wedding ceremonies until next year.
Senate Bill 0596 (SB0596), sponsored by Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17) was on the March 14th schedule for the Senate Judiciary Committee. During that session, Vice-officChairwoman Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro-District 13) announced that the bill would be deferred one year to the 2024 legislative session. No reason was given for that deferment.
As introduced, the bill states that “a person is not required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.”
The legislation would provide protection for all individuals within the state from being made to perform wedding ceremonies if they were not in agreement with the circumstances of the marriage due to a conflict of beliefs.
The House version of the bill (HB0878), sponsored by Representative Monty Fritts (R-Kingston-District 32), passed the Tennessee House on a 74 – 22 voted in favor on March 6th, 2023. However, the bill cannot become law until it passes in both chambers and is transmitted to Governor Lee for his signature.
As this is a developing story, we will publish updates as more information becomes available.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
Of course it was the Senate… a large block of wusses in there…