SAME-SEX VOWS, 10 COMMANDMENTS AMONG TENN. LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

by Lonnie Wilkey                                                                                                                   Vol. IX, No. 3, March 1996

A focus among Tennessee lawmakers in 1996 appears to be on family values and moral concerns.

State lawmakers are taking a strong stance against same-sex marriages and are encouraging Tennesseans to follow the Ten Commandments.

The Senate Judicial Committee approved SB 2305 by an 8-1 margin Feb. 20. It bans formal marriage between members of the same sex.

The bill will be placed on the Senate calendar possibly sometime the week of Feb. 26, said Bill Bates, public affairs consultant for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The House version of the bill (2907) has been referred to the House Judicial Committee.

"I think the bill reflects the feelings of Tennessee Baptists who believe along the lines that marriage is sacred and should be as God intended -- between man and woman," Bates said.

On Feb. 21, the Senate approved by a 27-1 margin a resolution supporting the Ten Commandments.

The action is simply a resolution and is not a law, Bates explained.

The resolution urges every citizen to honor the Ten Commandments, teach them to their children and display them in their homes, businesses, schools and places of worship. It also sets May 5-15 aside as a time to honor the Ten Commandments.

Last year the Tennessee House of Representatives passed a similar resolution on their consent calendar without an objection, Bates said.

The Senate took action despite an opinion by State Attorney General Charles Burson that it is unconstitutional.

Bates noted family values is a popular topic. "The emphasis today is on family values and the legislature is becoming sensitive to these values and is taking some positive actions," Bates said.

The veteran public affairs consultant said he didn't see why "anyone could object to the resolution. Most of our laws are built around the Ten Commandments," he observed.

Another action of interest to Tennessee Baptists, Bates said, concerns the so-called "monkey bill." This bill (SB 3229 and HB 2972) prohibits teaching the theory of evolution except as scientific theory and, as initially written, states that any teacher teaching the theory as fact "shall be dismissed or suspended."

The bill was amended to say "may" be dismissed or suspended. The bill cleared the Senate Education Committee Feb. 21 by an 8-1 margin and will be sent to the Senate Calendar Committee. A House education subcommittee also approved the bill. It was scheduled to be voted on by the House Education Committee Feb. 27.

Bates said he feels most Tennessee teachers are teaching evolution as a theory rather than fact and is not sure whether a bill is needed to "tell the teachers how to teach." [BP]