Same-sex marriage in Tennessee

Part of the LGBT rights series
Marriage legal

Recognized

Marriage not legal, but civil unions or registered partnerships legal
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ a b Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d e The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. ^ Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
  14. ^ Spousal health insurance benefits
  1. ^ a b Not yet in effect.
LGBTQ portal

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tennessee since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. Governor Bill Haslam quickly announced that the state would abide by the court's decision, and same-sex couples began to marry in Tennessee.[1] Previously, Tennessee had banned same-sex marriage both by statute and its State Constitution.

Despite same-sex marriage being legal in Tennessee and now enjoying majority support from the public, with a 2021 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute showing that 54% of Tennessee residents supported same-sex marriage,[2] a number of state politicians and officials continue to oppose it. In 2022, an attempt by a group of Republican lawmakers to curb the legal rights of married same-sex couples would have inadvertently created a loophole allowing child marriages and polygamy in the state. The attempt was widely mocked on social media and opposed by a majority of Democratic and Republican politicians. In 2018, House Republicans blocked a bill to ban child marriages because the Family Action Council of Tennessee, a group which opposes same-sex marriage, feared it could interfere with an anti-same-sex marriage lawsuit it had filed in Bradley County; the bill was passed following outcry, and the lawsuit was later dismissed by a circuit court judge in March 2019.[3]

  1. ^ Barchenger, Stacey (June 26, 2015). "Same-sex marriages begin in Nashville after Supreme Court ruling". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "PRRI – American Values Atlas 2021: Tennessee". Public Religion Research Institute. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).