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PRESERVATION OF MARRIAGE
JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has defined the family as
"consisting in and springing from the union for life of one man and one woman in
the holy estate of matrimony; the sure foundation of all that is stable and noble in
our civilization; the best guaranty of that reverent morality which is the source of
all beneficent progress in social and political improvement," Murphy v. Ramsey,
114 U.S. 15, 45 (1885), quoted in United States v. Bitty, 208 U.S. 393, 401 (1908); and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court described marriage as "an
institution, in the maintenance of which in its purity the public is deeply
interested, for it is the foundation of the family and of society, without which there
would be neither civilization nor progress," Maynard v. Hill, 125 U.S. 190, 211
(1888); and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in 1977 stated that "the basic
foundation of the family in our society [is] the marriage relationship," Smith v.
Org. of Foster Families For Equal. & Reform, 431 U.S. 816, 843 (1977); and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Tennessee provides, “The
historical institution and legal contract solemnizing the relationship of one (1) man
and one (1) woman shall be the only legally recognized marital contract in this
state. Any policy or law or judicial interpretation, purporting to define marriage as
anything other than the historical institution and legal contract between one (1)
man and one (1) woman, is contrary to the public policy of this state and shall be
void and unenforceable in Tennessee. If another state or foreign jurisdiction issues
a license for persons to marry and if such marriage is prohibited in this state by
the provisions of this section, then the marriage shall be void and unenforceable in
this state,” T.N. Const. art. XI, § 18 (2006); and
WHEREAS, Tennessee’s statutory law provides:
“Tennessee's marriage licensing laws reinforce, carry forward, and make
explicit the long-standing public policy of this state to recognize the family as
essential to social and economic order and the common good and as the
fundamental building block of our society. To that end, it is further the public
policy of this state that the historical institution and legal contract solemnizing the
relationship of one (1) man and one (1) woman shall be the only legally recognized
marital contract in this state in order to provide the unique and exclusive rights
and privileges to marriage…The legal union in matrimony of only one (1) man
and one (1) woman shall be the only recognized marriage in this state…Any
policy, law or judicial interpretation that purports to define marriage as anything
other than the historical institution and legal contract between one (1) man and
one (1) woman is contrary to the public policy of Tennessee,” Tenn. Code. Ann. §
36-3-113 (1996); and
WHEREAS, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee has opined, “The central
importance of the family, in its broadest sense, is ingrained in our cultural and
legal heritage. The Tennessee General Assembly wove this principle into the fabric
of Tennessee's public policy when it declared that families are among the
fundamental building blocks of society and that families are essential to social and
economic order and the common good,” In Re Randall B., Jr., 2006 WL 2792158,
unreported in S.W. 3d, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006) (citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3113(a)); and
WHEREAS, in 2013 the United States Supreme Court officially severed its
respect for marriage by declaring unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA) which defined marriage for federal purposes as existing between one
man and one woman, United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013),
NOW THEREFORE, the Legislature of the State of Tennessee hereby
submits the following Joint Resolution to the United States Congress entitled
Marriage Preservation Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Application to the United States Congress
to call a Convention for proposing an amendment
to the United States Constitution.
Pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution, the Legislature of the
State of Tennessee by a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives
hereby makes application to the United States Congress to call a Convention for
proposing the following amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Marriage Preservation Amendment to the United States Constitution
Nothing in this Constitution or in the constitution or laws of any state shall
define or shall be construed to define marriage except as the union of one man and
one woman, and no other union shall be recognized with the legal incidents thereof
within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.