Covenant marriages exclude LGBT people and that's what Tennessee lawmakers want
Re: "Covenant marriages will make Tennessee families stronger especially for children," by Noah Jenkins, Feb. 22.
Noah Jenkins has written a thoughtful and coherent guest opinion column in support of the Covenant Marriage Act.
However, his description omits a key element of the bill which is clearly one of its main points.
The first condition of House Bill 315/Senate Bill 737 states "a covenant marriage is a marriage entered into by one male and one female."
In creating a different category that excludes the LGBT community, our legislators are designating a class of citizenry unavailable to all. The Senate sponsor of the bill, Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, has been very clear about his disdain for gay marriage.
After the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell vs. Hodges decision in 2015, then state Representative Pody declared that same sex marriage is "wicked" and stated that,"I believe God told me this" before reading a passage from the book of Ezekiel in which he warns that "they shall surely die."
I am very cautious about people who declare that a supernatural deity speaks to them, and their actions are sanctioned by a god.
To declare this as an elected American state representative is misguided at best and dangerous.
Opinion: Contradictions between faith, politics and racism still haunt the South
It is with sincere hope that I say please, please do not allow this or other biblical passages to influence our laws. Surely, our state will not command a virgin who has been raped to marry her rapist (Deuteronomy 22:28-29).
This is a prime example of why our founders established a wall of separation between church and state. This wall should keep all religions from pushing any bigoted laws through a secular legislature.
Wesley H. Roberts, Pegram 37143
Agree or disagree? Or have a view on another topic entirely? Send a letter of 250 words or fewer to letters@tennessean.com. Include your full name, city/town, ZIP and contact information for verification. Thanks for adding to the public conversation.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: LGBT couples would be excluded from Tennessee's Covenant Marriage Act
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Republicans plan to use threat of third Trump impeachment as key issue to boost their standing in midterm races
Republican strategists say they plan to make a major midterm talking point from the threat of a third impeachment against Donald Trump that could come if Democrats retake the House. 'We know what the stakes are in the midterm elections,' John McLaughlin, a Trump pollster, told NBC News. 'If we don't succeed, Democrats will begin persecuting President Trump again. They would go for impeachment.' Right now, Republicans hold an eight-seat advantage in the House, walling the president off from a third impeachment, but that could change if the Democrats surge in 2026, as the president's party typically suffers during midterm elections. Still, according to Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who led the party's second impeachment against Trump over the January 6 insurrection, the Democrats themselves plan to focus more on what they see as the president's 'terrible agenda.' 'We've already impeached him twice,' Raskin told NBC. 'So obviously that's not a complete solution, given that he is able to beat the two-thirds constitutional spread. So I don't think anybody thinks that's going to be the utopian solution to our problems.' Both House impeachments — first for an alleged offer of quid pro quo with Ukraine to go after Joe Biden, then for the Capitol riot — did not have enough votes to secure convictions in the Senate. During the second Trump administration, the president has continued to face attempts to initiate new impeachment trials, including from Michigan Democrat Shri Thanedar in the spring and a June effort over the administration's Iran strikes, though none of these have come to pass. Impeachments may not be coming any time soon, but Republicans face a variety of other risks to their three-party majority control of the federal government. The president's job approval rating has dipped to 37 percent, according to Gallup, the lowest of this term and just above Trump's lowest-ever approval rating, driven by hemorrhaging support from independent voters. A majority of Americans also oppose his signature One Big, Beautiful Bill, which contains a series of tax cuts and restrictions on social programs like Medicaid. The party also continues to face fallout and internal division over the White House's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files scandal, in which Trump and his allies campaigned on releasing materials related to the notorious financier's sexual misconduct, only to backtrack as more information concerning Epstein and Trump's long-time friendship came to light. The president has lashed out at his own base for seeking information about the scandal, which he calls a Democratic 'hoax,' while House Speaker Mike Johnson effectively ended business in the lower house until after its upcoming summer recess to avoid Democratic amendments calling for the release of the files. Meanwhile, former White House ally (and GOP mega-donor) Elon Musk has vowed to form his own political party, in the face of disagreements with the Trump administration over spending policy and the Epstein saga. There could also be blowback to economic conditions if the Trump administration's repeatedly delayed double-digit tariffs take full effect on major U.S. trading partners.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Trump and EU reach trade deal ahead of looming deadline
The trade deal echoes the arrangement Trump reached with Japan. President Donald Trump announced July 27 the United States had reached a trade deal with the European Union, days ahead of a self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline. Trump met with the European Commission's president, Ursula von der Leyen, during his trip to Scotland over the weekend, where the pair discussed terms and came to an agreement. The deal includes a 15% tariff on most European exports to the United States, similar to agreements struck recently between Trump and other major trading partners, including Japan. The levy is higher than the 10% rate sought by Europeans but a reduction from the 30% Trump threatened to impose earlier in July. The agreement also includes $600 billion in EU investments in the U.S., and the purchase of $750 billion worth of U.S. energy. "I think we both wanted to make a deal,' Trump said. "I think it's going to be great for both.' The 15% tariff will be applied 'across the board,' for items including cars, but steel and aluminum will remain at 50%. "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal,' von der Leyen said. 'It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability.' The president has repeatedly criticized the European Union, saying it was "formed to screw the United States" on trade. The U.S. trade deficit with the EU reached $235 billion in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Heading into the weekend meeting, he called the relationship between the EU and the United States "very unfair" and said he thought officials had a "50/50 chance" of striking a deal. After an agreement was announced, von der Leyen said the deal would "rebalance" relations, despite European leaders long claiming there was not an unfair trade balance. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the agreement averted a trade conflict that threatened a 27.5% tariff on cars. "This agreement has succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-orientated German economy hard,' Merz said. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called it a 'positive' trade deal. Ireland's Trade Minister Simon Harris said the tariff provides certainty in trade that 'is essential for jobs, growth and investment.' "A deal provides a measure of much needed certainty for Irish, European and American businesses who together represent the most integrated trading relationship in the world,' Harris said. Trump is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits. He has so far reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days." The EU deal echoes the deal reached with Japan. Despite the recent deals, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration will continue to pursue aggressive tariffs around the world, including potential duties on critical semiconductors in the near future. Contributing: USA TODAY, Reuters
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Progs have abandoned progressivism, Columbia's ‘message of hope' and other commentary
Liberal: Progs Have Abandoned Progressivism 'Today's progressives aren't really progressive in the true sense of the term,' contends The Liberal Patriot's Ruy Teixeira. 'The quintessential moral commitment of midcentury progressives was to make American society truly colorblind.' Now, progs 'favor color-conscious remedies like affirmative action.' They view 'merit and objective measures of achievement . . . with suspicion.' Progressives used to be steadfast defenders of free speech,' but now, they inflate free expression 'with 'violence' and 'harm' and making people feel 'unsafe.'' And they 'prize goals like fighting climate change, procedural justice, and protecting identity groups above prosperity.' 'So can today's progressives be considered 'progressive' when they don't really support free speech, cultural pluralism and the open society? They cannot and voters, especially working class voters, are unlikely to consider them so.' Campus watch: Columbia's 'Message of Hope' 'Because Trump took a stand — and took the heat from progressives and the news media — things may finally change for the better at Columbia,' prays USA Today's Nicole Russell. 'Columbia University has agreed to pay [a] $200 million fine to the federal government to settle accusations that the school failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus.' Trump was 'standing against a culture on university campuses that promoted progressive values to the exclusion of dissenting opinions': 'Conservative students were shunned. And Jewish students were targeted because of Israel's defense of its citizens.' 'Institutions that accept taxpayer dollars must be held accountable.' 'This is a win for Trump, a scathing reprimand of higher education and a message of hope for American Jews.' Economy: Middle Class' Historic Gains 'Six months into his second term, President Donald Trump is delivering on his promise to create another middle-class economic boom,' cheers W.J. Lee at the Association of Mature American Citizens. Indeed, 'a new Treasury Department report reveals that middle-class and blue-collar workers are experiencing real-wage gains not seen in nearly 60 years': From December 2024 to May 2025, average hourly earnings for middle-class workers rose 1.7%, outpacing inflation. That 'translates to the most impressive half-year real-wage gain at the outset of a presidency' since Richard Nixon's 0.8% increase almost six decades ago. 'The only other time it came close to that? Eight years ago, during Trump's first term.' From the right: Climate Alarms Fall Flat 'The climate alarmists regularly seize on weather events they believe will help them exploit their narrative' but 'ignore contradictory information,' quips the Issues & Insights editorial board. Examples? 'The Northwest Passage is experiencing its third-highest level of sea ice extent in the last two decades,' despite Al Gore's 2009 warning that 'the Arctic polar ice cap could be gone during summer within five to seven years.' Similarly, 'efforts to attribute the deadly Texas flood . . . to human carbon dioxide emissions have been debunked,' and though 'a Tampa, Fla., meteorologist blamed 'climate change' . . . for 90-degree days having doubled in the city,' the average number of days reaching 95°F or higher in the state of Florida has not increased since 1895. Science beat: Fund University Research Locally 'Given the Trump administration's funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, the US must rethink how it endows innovation at American universities,' argue Thomas D. Lehrman and George Gilder at The Wall Street Journal. Publicly funded university research 'has fostered such innovations as the Global Positioning System, cancer therapies, recombinant DNA, and magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.' That history shows that 'US technological leadership depends on creativity from our campuses.' States looking 'to lead in research and innovation should follow the school-choice playbook and establish a class of nonprofit organizations.' It falls on state leaders to support and 'accelerate the scientific research essential to competing with global rivals and inventing lifesaving technologies.' — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
