A Tennessee state representative has
asked county clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay and
lesbian couples.
Rep. Rick Womick, a Republican from
Rockvale, on Wednesday sent a
letter to all 95 county clerks in Tennessee encouraging them to
ignore the Supreme Court's ruling striking down gay marriage bans in
all 50 states, NBC affiliate WSMV.com
reported.
“We are going to redefine marriage as
this? They don't have the power. Only Congress and state
legislators have that power to create law,” Womick told WSMV.
“These clerks, by ignoring the opinion, will be in violation of no
federal law. All they're in violation of is the opinion of
individuals in black robes.”
He went on to accuse Governor Bill
Haslam and the state attorney general of bullying county clerks.
“[Haslam] took it upon himself to
intimidate our county clerks,” he wrote.
Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality
Project said that Womick “needs to let it go.”
“There is no chance a county clerk is
going to win if this goes to court. They will lose and they will be
liable for those legal fees,” he said. “He really needs to let
it go.”