A proposed Tennessee bill would strengthen “conscience rights,” allowing people qualified to officiate marriage ceremonies to refuse to perform same-sex unions, or any others to which they object.
But on March 14, proponents of the bill hit a snag when it stalled. Members of the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted to delay further consideration of the measure until Jan. 23, 2024.
Lawmakers in the Tennessee House of Representatives already had passed House Bill 878. To become law, the legislation would have to be approved by members of the state senate, and get past the Tennessee governor’s desk.
Opponents of the bill saw it as a win, until “next year, when it could resume moving through the process,” Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project and Tennessee Equality Project Foundation, told The Epoch Times in a written statement. “We believe that public officials should serve the entire public and cannot support the bill.”…