{"id":25609,"date":"2026-02-23T10:01:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/tennessee-house-passes-bill-allowing-citizens-to-refuse-recognizing-gay-marriages\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:01:53","slug":"tennessee-house-passes-bill-allowing-citizens-to-refuse-recognizing-gay-marriages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/tennessee-house-passes-bill-allowing-citizens-to-refuse-recognizing-gay-marriages\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee House Passes Bill Allowing Citizens to Refuse Recognizing Gay Marriages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Tennessee’s House of Representatives has approved controversial legislation that would allow private citizens and organizations to refuse recognition of same-sex marriages without facing legal consequences. The measure does not void existing homosexual unions but creates protections for those who choose not to acknowledge them.<\/p>

The proposed law comes nearly two decades after Tennessee residents voted in 2006 to approve a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriages, a decision made years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex unions across the nation.<\/p>

The legislation now moves to the Tennessee Senate for further consideration.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tennessee’s House of Representatives has approved legislation that would permit private individuals and organizations to decline recognition of same-sex marriages without facing penalties. The measure, which doesn’t void existing gay unions, now advances to the state Senate for consideration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[833],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771858912533.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-6F3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45502,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/netherlands-marks-25-years-since-worlds-first-legal-same-sex-marriages\/","url_meta":{"origin":25609,"position":0},"title":"Netherlands Marks 25 Years Since World’s First Legal Same-Sex Marriages","author":"Admin","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dutch capital commemorated a quarter-century milestone in LGBTQ+ rights as three couples wed at City Hall just after midnight Wednesday. The ceremony honored the historic moment in 2001 when Amsterdam hosted the planet's first legal same-sex marriages, inspiring similar legislation in nearly 40 nations worldwide.","rel":"","context":"In "World News"","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775022178577.jpg?fit=1000%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775022178577.jpg?fit=1000%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775022178577.jpg?fit=1000%2C656&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775022178577.jpg?fit=1000%2C656&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71822,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/pope-leo-forms-ai-study-group-poland-recognizes-first-same-sex-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":25609,"position":1},"title":"Pope Leo Forms AI Study Group; Poland Recognizes First Same-Sex Marriage","author":"Admin","date":"May 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Religious and social issues make headlines as Pope Leo establishes a Vatican artificial intelligence study group while Poland registers its first gay marriage following EU court orders. The House also rejected plans for a women's history museum over transgender inclusion disputes.","rel":"","context":"In "Religious"","block_context":{"text":"Religious","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/religious\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779756705339.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779756705339.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779756705339.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779756705339.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779756705339.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74331,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/international-religious-news-taliban-marriage-law-poland-gay-marriage-va-abortion-ban\/","url_meta":{"origin":25609,"position":2},"title":"International Religious News: Taliban Marriage Law, Poland Gay Marriage, VA Abortion Ban","author":"Admin","date":"May 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The United Nations has raised serious concerns about Afghanistan's new marriage law that appears to permit child marriage. 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