LGBT rights in Tennessee
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Tennesseans face some legal challenges that non-LGBT Tennesseans do not. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in the state. Marriage licenses have been issued to same-sex couples in Tennessee since the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015.
![]() | |
Status | Legal since 1996 (Campbell v. Sundquist) |
Gender identity | Vital Records Act of 1977 |
Discrimination protections | Sexual orientation and gender identity in employment since 2020 |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage is recognized statewide since 2015 |
Adoption | Legal since 2007 |
Sodomy law
The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the state's sodomy statute was unconstitutional in 1996 in the case of Campbell v. Sundquist.[1]
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Marriage
Prior to being overturned, Tennessee recognized neither same-sex marriages nor any other form of legal recognition of same sex-unions. The state banned same-sex marriage both by statute and by constitutional amendment. That ban was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 26, 2015.
House Bill 1111
Domestic partnership
![](../I/m/Tennessee_counties_and_cities_with_domestic_partnerships.svg.png)
The cities of Collegedale[2] and Knoxville[3] together with the Metropolitan Area of Nashville and Davidson County[4][5] have enacted domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. The Chattanooga City Council voted to allow domestic partnerships in 2013, but this was repealed by voters in August 2014.[6] However, same-sex marriages have been available throughout Tennessee since the June 2015 Supreme Court ruling overturning same-sex marriage bans nationwide.
Adoption and parenting
Tennessee allows single persons to adopt children. Same-sex couples may legally adopt in the state. In 2007, the Tennessee Attorney General released an opinion that no state law prohibited adoption by same-sex couples and that such adoptions could be made if in the child's best interest.[7][8]
In January 2020, the Tennessee Legislature, returning for its first session of the year, immediately passed a bill to allow adoption and welfare agencies to reject LGBTQ parents if the agency cited its “sincerely held religious beliefs." The exemption would protect the agencies from liability and lawsuits. 11 other US jurisdictions have similar laws. Governor Bill Lee signed the bill into law, and it took effect immediately.[9][10]
Discrimination protections
![](../I/m/Tennessee_counties_and_cities_with_sexual_orientation_and_gender_identity_protection.svg.png)
Tennessee law does not prohibit discrimination of the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.[11]
The cities of Knoxville,[12] Memphis,[13] Franklin, Chattanooga[6] and the Metropolitan Area of Nashville and Davidson County[14] have ordinances prohibiting discrimination in public employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, but these ordinances do not apply to private employers.[15]
HB 563
This "local preemption" bill would prevent government agencies from examining a business's anti-discrimination policies when deciding whether to hire that business for a taxpayer-funded contract. A scheduled vote in the Tennessee House was rescheduled from March 14, 2019 to March 21.[16]
Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act
Senate Bill 1556
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes
On March 7, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee) ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination against transgender people under the category of sex. It also ruled that employers may not use the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to justify discrimination against LGBT people. Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman, began working for a funeral home and presented as male. In 2013, she told her boss that she was transgender and planned to transition. She was promptly fired by her boss who said that "gender transition violat[es] God’s commands because a person’s sex is an immutable God-given fit."[17] With this decision, discrimination in the workplace based on gender identity is now banned in Tennessee. An appeal to the case is set to be heard by the Supreme Court in the 2019 term under R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Hate crime law
Tennessee law has punished hate crime on the basis of sexual orientation since 2001, but the law does not include gender identity, though it is covered by federal law.[18] It was reported by the Tennessee Attorney-General in February 2019 that hate crime laws implicitly cover gender identity, because gender or sex is explicitly covered in Tennessee hate crime legislation - a legal first for a southern US state.[19][20]
Gender identity and expression
Identity documents
In 1977, the Tennessee state legislature prohibited the state from altering the sex on a birth certificate. According to the Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-3-203(d): “The sex of an individual shall not be changed on the original certificate of birth as a result of sex change surgery."[21][22]
Athletics
When the Tennessee state legislature reconvened in May 2020 during the coronavirus health crisis, the House moved HB 1572[23] and HB 1689[24] targeting transgender student athletes. The Senate also had the ability to move SB 1736[25] (its version of HB 1689), as this had been under consideration before the Legislature adjourned in March.
Medical care
In March 2020, before the House adjourned during the coronavirus health crisis, it had been considering HB 2576[26] and HB 2827,[27] targeting medical care for transgender youth.
Summary table
Same-sex sexual activity legal | ![]() |
Equal age of consent | ![]() |
Anti-discrimination state laws for sexual orientation | ![]() |
Anti-discrimination state laws for gender identity or expression | ![]() |
Hate crime laws include sexual orientation | ![]() |
Hate crime laws include gender identity or expression | ![]() |
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples | ![]() |
Joint adoption by same-sex couples | ![]() |
Access to IVF for lesbians | ![]() |
Right to change legal gender | ![]() |
Same-sex marriages | ![]() |
MSMs allowed to donate blood | ![]() ![]() |
See also
- Recognition of same-sex unions in Tennessee
- Tennessee Equality Project
- Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition
References
- American Psychological Association: Campbell v. Sundquist, 926 S.W.2d 255, accessed April 9, 2011
- "Collegedale first TN city to offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners". 5wmctv.com. Aug 6, 2013.
- "Knoxville expanding employee benefits to same-sex, domestic partners". WBIR. October 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- Metro Council approves domestic partner benefits
- Mayor Signs Domestic Partner Benefits Into Law
- "Chattanooga City Council passes much-debated anti-discrimination ordinance". timesfreepress.com. 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- Human Rights Campaign: "Tennessee Adoption Law" Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 9, 2011
- http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/ag-same-sex-adoption-ok-tennessee
- State of Tennessee "Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act", accessed June 17, 2016
- Witt, Gerald (May 1, 2012). "Knoxville City Council passes anti-discrimination ordinance". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- "Memphis includes gays under anti-discrimination". Knoxville News Sentinel. Associated Press. October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
The Memphis City Council has included sexual orientation and gender identity in an ordinance that bans discrimination in city hiring.
- "Statement of Non-Discrimination". Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- Ridley, Jim (May 26, 2011). "By giving his approval to the noxious HB600, Gov. Bill Haslam sells out Tennessee to a far-right agenda". Nashville Scene. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- "Tennessee General Assembly » Legislation (Development)". wapp.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
- "Businesses Can't Fire Trans Employees for Religious Reasons, Federal Appeals Court Rules in Landmark Decision". Slate. March 7, 2018.
- Tennessee Hate Crimes Law at Human Rights Campaign.
- "Tennessee". National Center for Transgender Equality. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- Aviles, Gwen (24 April 2019). "Trans plaintiffs sue Tennessee to change birth certificate gender". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- "Tennessee General Assembly Legislation". wapp.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- "Tennessee General Assembly Legislation". wapp.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- "Tennessee General Assembly Legislation". wapp.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- "Tennessee General Assembly Legislation". wapp.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- "Tennessee General Assembly Legislation". wapp.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-29.