Reuters - Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam enacted a bill that critics say is an underhanded way of denying rights to same-sex couples by insisting on the "natural and ordinary meaning" of words in state statues.
The legislation, which was signed by the Republican governor despite pressure from civil liberty and gay-rights groups, requires words in Tennessee law be interpreted with their "natural and ordinary meaning, without forced or subtle construction that would limit or extend the meaning of the language." It did not explain, however, what that means.
Civil rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates warned the law is meant to undermine the rights of same-sex couples in any statutes that include words like "husband," "wife," "mother" or "father."
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