Property taxes, gay marriage face vote

Constitutional amendments on November ballot in Tennessee

By Richard Locker, The Commercial Appeal
September 24, 2006

NASHVILLE -- Tennessee voters will decide Nov. 7 whether to enact a stronger ban on same-gender marriage and to allow local governments to freeze property taxes for homeowners 65 and older.

The two proposed amendments to the state constitution will appear on the ballot as questions for voters to answer with "yes" or "no" votes. To be ratified, each amendment requires a majority of yes votes -- and the yes votes must also be a majority of the total votes cast in the governor's election, on the same ballot.

The state legislature proposed both amendments to voters during its last two terms.

The property-tax freeze has generated no controversy or opposition, and little publicity. It would allow the legislature to set up a legal framework under which city councils and county commissions may freeze property taxes on the primary residence of homeowners 65 and up, at the level they pay the year they turn 65 -- or later if they buy a home after 65.

Local governments could choose whether to enact the tax freezes.

State Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and Rep. Tre Hargett, R-Bartlett, shepherded the tax amendment through the legislature. Norris said he knows of no opposition. He has launched a new Web site, tennesseniors.com, to inform voters.

"I hope we'll be able to work with senior citizens' groups and others. People need to understand the importance of constitutional amendments and what it takes to pass them," he said.

Norris said debate over whether a property-tax freeze for older residents could force higher taxes on others ought to occur at the local level, after the amendment is approved, when local governments are considering whether to participate.

"That's not a justifiable fear in my opinion. It will be discretionary: it's an opt-in for city and county governments. We're trying to preserve the homeplace so people can live with dignity in their golden years," he said.

The AARP is backing the amendment with information in its bulletins and newsletters to members. "Property taxes are the single most burdensome tax for low-income Tennesseans" who own their homes, said AARP Tennessee spokeswoman Mary Liz Nish.

Campaigns are under way both for and against the proposal to enact a state constitutional ban on gay marriage. Opponents waged an unsuccessful court battle to keep the amendment off the ballot.

Tennessee law already prohibits same-gender marriage. But advocates of the amendment say they fear the law could be overturned by the courts. Enshrining a prohibition in the constitution would mean it could it could only be altered by voters in a future referendum.

In addition to defining marriage as "between one man and one woman," the amendment bans same-gender marriages performed in other states from being legally recognized in Tennessee.

The amendment is backed by social and religious conservative groups led by Family Action of Tennessee and is opposed by gay and lesbian groups, the American Civil Liberties Union and some religious leaders.

"It will be the first time we've used the constitution to take away people's rights rather than enhance them," said Randy Tarkington of the Tennessee Equality Project, the coalition leading the opposition to the amendment. "The fact that people want to make that commitment is an honor to marriage."

State Sen. David Fowler, R-Chattanooga, who heads Family Action, said he believes the amendment is "necessary because change in the definition of marriage will have significant and profound impacts, both sociologically, politically and economically, and it is only right that something with such far-reaching implications touching the lives of every citizen should only be changed by the citizens," not the courts.

A Family Action affiliated group says on its Web site, realmarriage.org, that heterosexual marriage must be protected "from counterfeits and devolutions" because it has "proven throughout human history to be the surest foundation for civil society and families." It says "Children do better with a Mom and a Dad."

But a new analysis by the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded, "There is ample evidence to show that children raised by same-gender parents fare as well as those raised by heterosexual parents.

"Conscientious and nurturing adults, whether they are men or women, heterosexual or homosexual, can be excellent parents. The rights, benefits, and protections of civil marriage can further strengthen these families," the doctors' group said in the July issue of Pediatrics, the academy's official journal.

Nineteen states, including Arkansas and Mississippi, have adopted constitutional amendments defining marriage. Six other states join Tennessee with referendums on the issue in November.

Constitutional amendments were rare in Tennessee, but not anymore. After major changes to county governments in 1978, no amendments made it to the ballot until 1998, when voters approved a crime victims' rights amendment and removed a 120-year old provision requiring state prisons be "comfortable."

Four years ago, voters approved a state lottery -- but rejected a proposal to allow municipal courts to impose fines above $50 without juries, unless defendants waive their rights to juries.

Mark Norris Official Web Site

Mark Norris Personal Web Site

Tennesse Senate Republican Caucus

Senator Mark Norris
303 War Memorial Building,
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0232
Phone 615-741-1967
1-800-449-8366

Email: Sen. Mark Norris