Gay marriage plaintiffs urge opposition to Tennessee bill

Friday, April 28, 2017, Vol. 41, No. 17

NASHVILLE (AP) — Two plaintiffs in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court gay marriage case want Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to veto legislation requiring use of the "natural and ordinary meaning" of undefined words in state law.

Jim Obergefell and Thom Kostura headlined a news conference Wednesday at Tennessee's Capitol.

LGBT advocates fear the legislation could spur discrimination against same-sex couples and transgender people.

The Music Business Association also wants a veto.

Haslam's office says he's deferred to the will of the legislature, which approved the bill.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery has said the legislation could conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling and state law about interpreting gender-specific words as inclusive.

His opinion said a judge would likely use gender-inclusive interpretations of words like "husband," ''wife," ''father" and "mother."