February 23, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
media@aclu.org
NASHVILLE – The American Civil Liberties Union
of Tennessee today announced an appeal to the State Supreme Court after Davidson
County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled to allow an anti-marriage amendment to
go forward.
In
ACLU v. Darnell, filed on April 21, 2005, the ACLU
of Tennessee challenged a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that
would ban same-sex couples from marrying. The lawsuit charged that the
state failed to meet notification requirements as outlined in the state
Constitution by failing to publish the text of the amendment six months prior to
the General Assembly election.
“The framers of the Tennessee
Constitution put specific safeguards in place to guarantee that the voters are
given ample opportunity to engage in public debate and discussion before
amending the Constitution,” said ACLU of Tennessee Executive Director Hedy
Weinberg. “Constitutional requirements are not technicalities. They were
put in place because amending the Constitution is a very serious decision.
Those requirements should be followed exactly as the founders required –
especially when the amendment in question would deny couples much needed
protections for their families.”
“As the court acknowledged
today,” Weinberg added, “the constitutional requirements were not followed
here. The ACLU of Tennessee has already filed a notice of appeal and we
hope the Tennessee Supreme Court will expedite the appeal.”
In its
ruling, the court found that the General Assembly failed to follow the
constitutional notification requirement by neglecting to publish the amendment
six months prior to government action. However, the court concluded that
incidental media coverage prior to the amendment’s adoption “cured the General
Assembly’s default in publication.”
The ACLU of Tennessee has
contended that the state’s failure to comply with the Constitution invalidates
the proposed amendment. Article XI, Section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution sets
forth rules for amending the Constitution. Before an amendment can be
placed on the ballot for a general election, it must first be agreed upon by a
majority of both the Senate and House of Representatives. Then the text of
the amendment must be published in Tennessee newspapers at least six months
before the next election of the General Assembly. When the next General
Assembly convenes, a second vote is taken, and the amendment must be approved by
two-thirds of the members of both the Senate and House. The amendment is
put to a vote only if it meets all of these requirements.
According
to the complaint filed by the ACLU, the proposed amendment received the
necessary support to pass the first vote in the House on May 6, 2004 and in the
Senate on May 19, 2004. However, the Secretary of State failed to publish
the text of the amendment until June 20, 2004 – only four months and 12 days
prior to the General Assembly elections that took place on November 2,
2004.
“Requirements in the state Constitution represent the
ultimate will of the people, and our lawmakers should be held accountable to the
people by properly satisfying those requirements,” said ACLU of Tennessee staff
attorney Melody Fowler-Green. “This is especially important when our lawmakers
are proposing to amend our foundational law. It isn’t just these
plaintiffs who are harmed by the General Assembly’s failure to follow the rules
– the integrity of the system is shaken.”
ACLU of Tennessee, et
al. v. Darnell, et al. was filed in the Chancery Court for Davidson
County, Tennessee. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of ACLU members; the
Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), a statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender lobbying organization; State Representatives Larry Turner, Beverly
Robison Marrero and Tommie Brown; as well as a number of private
citizens.
Attorneys in the case are Fowler-Green of the ACLU of
Tennessee and and ACLU cooperating attorneys Abby Rubenfeld of Rubenfeld
Law Office and Anne Martin of Bone McAllester Norton
PLLC.
