Tennessee Judge Declares Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Constitutional – and Does So through Divorce Ruling

The same-sex marriage ban has been hotly contested not only in Tennessee, but throughout the country. A recent court case brought the constitutionality of the law back into the spotlight when Judge Russell E. Simmons, Jr., of the Roane County Circuit, denied a same-sex couple’s right to get divorced.

The couple was married in Iowa four years ago. They sought a divorce in Tennessee, and the judge denied the request – and he cited U.S. v. Windsor to do it. The Fresno Bee cites Judge Simmons as writing:

The Windsor case is concerned with the definition of marriage, only as it applies to federal laws, and does not give an opinion concerning whether one State must accept as valid a same-sex marriage allowed in another State…. In the Windsor case the Supreme Court opines that if a state finds same-sex marriage to be valid, the federal government cannot trump that state’s law. The Supreme Court does not go the final step and find that a state that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman is unconstitutional. Further, the Supreme Court does not find that one state’s refusal to accept as valid another State’s valid same-sex marriage to be in violation of the U.S. Constitution. (Emphasis ours)

Judge Simmons’ decision comes only a few short months after another judge ruled that a same-sex couple who marries in another state should have their rights recognized in Tennessee. The decision has been appealed in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, with no decisions made yet.

In this case, however, Judge Simmons upheld the law correctly as it’s currently stated: whether or not he (or you, or any of us) believes in same-sex marriage is irrelevant. It is illegal in Tennessee right now, and same-sex marriages that take place outside of our state aren’t recognized; thus, Judge Simmons was correct to rule that the couple before him could not legally divorce – after all, in the eyes of Tennessee law they were never married to begin with.

This case and other like it are crucial to helping lawmakers tie up the loose ends that seemingly surround same-sex marriages. While we believe in the power of states to govern themselves, situations keep arising that fall into the gray areas of our laws. For now, the couple will probably have to return to Iowa to have their marriage dissolved.