TENNESSEE LAWMAKERS RUSH TO PROTECT MINISTERS FROM SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RULING

Two Tennessee Republican state legislators announced Friday that they are drafting a bill to shield Tennessee clergy from having to perform same-sex marriages and churches from having to host same-sex wedding ceremonies.

State Reps. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro, and Andy Holt, R-Dresden, said they will co-sponsor a “Tennessee Pastor Protection Act” for presentation to the 2016 legislative session, which opens next January. No Senate sponsor has been identified, and legislation must win approval in both chambers to become law.

Holt struck a defiant tone against the Supreme Court ruling, citing the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment, which separates powers between the federal and state governments, and saying he “has no plans to recognize the court’s ruling as valid.

“To my friends of faith, to those who endear the principles of social conservatism, and to those who ascribe to the original intent of the ‪Tenth Amendment, we must never give up,” Holt said in a statement.

“The Court has made it clear that they have no intention to uphold the principles of separation of power. It’s more important now than ever that we stand and resist the abuse of our own government and that is exactly what I plan to do by lobbying for the Pastor Protection Act with Rep. Terry.”