Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law Wednesday a bill that will allow public officials to refuse to perform marriages based on their “conscience or religious beliefs.”
HB 878 states that a person “shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.”Â
Marriages can be solemnized by religious leaders or government officials including judges, notaries public, and elected officials.
The bill does not allow officials to deny marriage licenses to couples based on their beliefs but does allow them to decline to solemnize a marriage.Â
The bill was introduced by Rep. Monty Fritts last January. Â
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“As societal views change about what constitutes a marriage, officiants must be able to refuse to solemnize marriages that are contrary to their beliefs,” Fritts said during a state Subcommittee on Children and Family Affairs meeting. “The government has a responsibility to protect the exercise of religious beliefs. … Those with the authority to perform civil ceremonies would also be permitted to refuse to solemnize marriage for
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