A federal judge has just issued a temporary order requiring the state of Tennessee to recognize the marriages of three same-sex couples who are suing the state. U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger is hearing the case but issued the preliminary injunction because “all relevant federal authority indicates that the plaintiffs in this case are indeed likely to prevail on their claims that the Anti-Recognition Laws are unconstitutional.â€
Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed broke the story today. He explains that “the temporary ruling affects only the state’s treatment of the three couples” because they “filed the case only on their own behalf.”
Judge Trauger, Geidner notes, wrote:
At some point in the future, likely with the benefit of additional precedent from circuit courts and, perhaps, the Supreme Court, the court will be asked to make a final ruling on the plaintiffs’ claims. At this point, all signs indicate that, in the eyes of the United States Constitution, the plaintiffs’ marriages will be placed on an equal footing with those of heterosexual couples and that proscriptions against same-sex marriage will soon become a footnote in the annals of American history.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights filed the lawsuit in October, 2013. Noting that “Tennessee law currently prohibits recognition of their marriages and treats the couples as legal strangers,†NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter announced that “married couples should be able to travel and to live in any state knowing that their family is protected. Tennessee’s current law hurts same-sex couples and their children without helping anyone.â€
President Bill Clinton nominated Trauger to the bench in 1998.
Image by Tennessee Equality Project via Facebook
Editor’s note: An early version of this story, based on other reports, incorrectly stated the number of couples as four. The ruling affects three of the four couples involved in the lawsuit.