But governor says 'Obergefell decision is the law of the land'

Gov. Bill Haslam announced Friday that he has signed into law the controversial "natural and ordinary meaning" bill, which was heavily pushed by the conservative Family Action Council of Tennessee.

Haslam's decision came after thousands of LGBT advocates had called for a veto, including Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff of the historic Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage across the country.

The bill, HB 1111, was sponsored by Sen. John Stevens (R-Huntingdon) and Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville), both of whom have said the legislation was not about targeting the LGBT community even as FACT head David Fowler has repeatedly said the legislation was an attempt to force judges to define marriage as occurring between only a man and a woman. Fowler wrote earlier this week that "tying judges’ hands is what our Founders called the separation of powers."

Attorney General Herb Slatery expressed concerns over the legislation, but not enough to defer Haslam.

"I have reviewed the final language of HB 1111/SB 1085 and assessed the legislation’s potential impact and concerns," Haslam said in an emailed statement. "The language of this bill is for a general definitions section of the Tennessee code, which defines 'road' and 'sheriff,' among other common terms. For at least 150 years, courts including the Tennessee Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court have looked to a word’s natural and ordinary meaning when deciding cases.

"In reviewing this bill, I do not believe the legislation accomplishes anything that isn’t already relied upon by the courts, even after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision in 2015," Haslam continued. "And if a potential conflict did arise, the Tennessee Attorney General has opined that a court could resolve it through other statutory interpretation rules. This legislation passed three-to-one in the House and nearly four-to-one in the Senate. Using a word’s ordinary meaning is a well-established principle of statutory construction. While I understand the concerns raised about this bill, the Obergefell decision is the law of the land, and this legislation does not change a principle relied upon by the courts for more than a century, mitigating the substantive impact of this legislation. Because of that I have signed HB 1111/SB 1085 into law."

The Tennessee Equality Project criticized the move, saying, "We are very concerned for the judicial chaos this bill unleashes and its discriminatory impact on LGBT people in Tennessee."

The ACLU of Tennessee had also urged a veto, writing in a letter to Haslam that it "invites confusion into the application and implementation of a wide range of laws, including those affecting education, family relationships, health care and taxes."

After the governor's decision became public, Hedy Weinberg, the ACLU-TN executive director, said, "We are extremely disappointed in the governor's decision to sign this discriminatory bill. LGBT Tennesseans and their families are due full recognition and equal treatment under the law, just like everybody else. ACLU-TN is ready to challenge any unconstitutional, discriminatory practices that occur as a result of this narrow-minded legislation."

The Human Rights Campaign also issued a statement.

"Governor Haslam has chosen to put pure politics ahead of Tennessee’s women and LGBTQ people," said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. "This draconian measure will open the state up to many expensive legal challenges and divert state resources to defending an unnecessary, unconstitutional measure. The Governor should be ready to answer for the fallout signing this bill will cause."

The Nashville LGBT Chamber condemned the law, tweeting, "Unfortunately, we will incur the cost of litigation before we know [that Obergefell takes precedent] for a fact and face economic boycott." The group also posted on Facebook, "The LGBT community will not be erased. We stand with our members to protect the rights of all mothers, fathers, husbands, and wives (also known as parents and spouses). We will work tirelessly for our LGBT family owned businesses to live and work in Tennessee with dignity and respect. It is a sad day for Nashville and for Tennessee."

This story has been updated with additional statements.