Decision bittersweet for Tennessee couples
It’s only an empty box. But to Derek Norman of Memphis, it is a simple shape that, like a ring, has come to symbolize so much in the five years since he and his husband married.
Next year, Norman will be one of thousands of same-sex couples to check the “married” box for the first time on a federal tax form, thanks to the U. S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision Wednesday to extend federal benefits to same-sex couples.
“I think for the first time ever,” Norman said, “I’m actually going to look forward to filing my taxes next year.”
The high court declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and refused to rule on a case involving California’s Prop 8, making it the 13th state to allow same-sex marriage.
“The entire LGBT community is walking on clouds today because of these two victories,” said Norman, who spent the morning glued to his laptop at work awaiting the decisions. “I let out a huge sigh of relief,” he said, and then texted his
husband, Robert Blaudow.
“My children are going to grow up in a society that’s healthier, richer, more meaningful and more inclusive than ever before because of today’s decision,” Blaudow said.
But it was a bittersweet victory for members of Memphis’ LGBT community who were elated by the court’s decision but shared only slim hopes their home state would lift its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage anytime soon.
The court’s decision not to rule on the Prop 8 case cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California. But had the court elected to rule in the case and found California’s ban unconstitutional, it would have set a precedent that may have endangered similar state-level bans, like the one Tennessee adopted in 2006.
Knowing that, at least for now, Tennessee still does not allow same-sex marriages was of little comfort to COGIC Bishop David Allen Hall, who lamented what he called “civil rights awarded out of immorality.”
Hall said that no mat- ter what the law says, he would continue to declare marriage a sacred union between a man and a woman.
“In the Bible, credibility does not stand on whether or not society approves of its message,” Hall said.
He was joined in his condemnation of the ruling by the Tupelo-based American Family Association and the Family Action Council of Tennessee, both of whom were among many organizations across the region who issued statements denouncing the ruling.
Though Chrysti Hogan of Memphis, who looked forward to celebrating Wednesday’s ruling with her wife, remains hopeful, she believes “gay marriage in Tennessee is not going to happen anytime soon.”
Hogan had been with her wife, Jeanne Ortman, for almost 19 years before finally traveling to Iowa last year to tie the knot.
“We wanted to wait to get married in the state where we lived,” Hogan said. But last fall they decided federal recognition of same-sex marriage seemed imminent and that they had waited on Tennessee long enough.
“We wanted to have that in place if and when the decisions happened,” she said.
“We’re still in the South, and there’s still a lot of negative feelings about it,” Hogan said. “I feel every step we can take to share who we are with people hopefully can help change opinions.”