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The US state of Tennessee will now protect clergy and officials from being forced to conduct same-sex weddings.
House Bill 878, which Governor Bill Lee has now signed into law, states: “A person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious belief.”
State Representative Monty Fritts, who sponsored the Bill, previously explained: “As societal views change about what constitutes a marriage, officiants must be able to refuse to solemnize marriages that are contrary to their beliefs.”
Christian beliefs
Earlier this year, former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was ordered to pay $360,000 in fees and damages after she declined to issue marriage licences in 2015 following the US Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage.
She explained that her “deep-rooted” Christian convictions meant that rather than be forced to issue same-sex marriage licences she would not issue any at all.
Her legal team are expected to appeal the ruling.
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