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Tennessee judge refuses to divorce straight couple, cites gay marriage ruling
A judge in Tennessee has refused to grant a divorce to a straight couple, citing the gay marriage ruling as a reason.
Hamilton County Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton denied the divorce last week after hearing from seven witnesses over four days and going through 77 exhibits, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
Atherton said the Supreme Court needed to clarify ‘when a marriage is no longer a marriage.’
‘The conclusion reached by this court is that Tennesseans have been deemed by the US Supreme Court to be incompetent to define and address such keystone/central institutions such as marriage, and, thereby, at minimum, contested divorces,’ he wrote in his judgment.
Atherton is the latest in a string of public officials who have refused to obey the ruling. Most notorious is Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who continues to refuse issuing gay marriage licenses despite a Supreme Court ruling against her. She could now face charges of contempt and jail time.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Atherton’s decision had ruffled the local legal community. Some lawyers questioned the legality of his ruling, while others believe he was expressing his personal opposition to gay marriage.
Asked by the newspaper what the couple could do next, Atherton replied: ‘Hopefully, they can reconcile.’
The post Tennessee judge refuses to divorce straight couple, cites gay marriage ruling appeared first on Gay Star News.
Darren Wee
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