Tennessee judge refuses straight couple’s divorce, citing SCOTUS gay marriage ruling
A Tennessee judge rejected a married couple’s request for divorce last week by citing the Supreme Court’s ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June, according to local media.
Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton, of Hamilton County, argues that the SCOTUS decision renders it impossible to determine what constitutes a divorce, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
"The conclusion reached by this Court is that Tennesseans have been deemed by the U.S. Supreme Court to be incompetent to define and address such keystone/central institutions such as marriage, and, thereby, at minimum, contested divorces," Atherton wrote.
The state court judge said he is in a bit of a "quandary": if the Supreme Court decided "what must be recognized as a marriage," Tennessee' s judiciary has to wait to see what the high court decides is not a marriage.
Thomas Bumgardner, 65, and Pamela Bumgardner, 61, who have no children together, filed for divorce in September 2014 citing irreconcilable differences. But Atherton suggested that their marriage could be saved.
"Ultimately, based upon the evidence presented at trial and specifically the testimony of
the parties themselves, the Court is not convinced that this marriage is irretrievably broken," Atherton said.
Atherton was not immediately available for comment Thursday when contacted by Yahoo News.
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