In response to court action in a number of states,the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.
The legality of abortion in the United States and the various restrictions imposed on the procedure vary significantly,depending on the laws of each state or other jurisdiction,although there is no uniform federal law. Some states prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy,with few exceptions;others permit it up to a certain point in a woman's pregnancy,while some allow abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy. In states where abortion is legal,several classes of restrictions on the procedure may exist,such as parental consent or notification laws,requirements that patients be shown an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion,mandatory waiting periods,and counseling requirements.
Illinois is seen as one of the most progressive states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) rights and often viewed as one of the most liberal states in the Midwestern United States. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1962,after Illinois became the first U.S. state to repeal its sodomy laws. Same-sex marriage was banned by statute in 1996,but has since been legalized after a law allowing such marriages was signed by Governor Pat Quinn on November 20,2013 and went into effect on June 1,2014. Civil unions have been recognized since 2011,and same-sex couples are also allowed to adopt. Additionally,discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is banned in employment,housing,credit and public accommodations,and conversion therapy on minors has been outlawed since 2016.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the U.S. state of Iowa have evolved significantly in the 21st century. Iowa began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on April 27,2009 following a ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court,making Iowa the fourth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples may also adopt,and state laws ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment,housing and public accommodations.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Tennessee may experience some legal challenges that non-LGBTQ residents do not. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the state since 1996. Marriage licenses have been issued to same-sex couples in Tennessee since the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26,2015.
Cameron A. Sexton is an American politician from Tennessee. A Republican,he has been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 25th District since 2011,and has been the Speaker of the state House since 2019. Before becoming Speaker,Sexton was Majority Caucus Chairman.
A six-week abortion ban,also called a "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents,is a law in the United States which makes abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestational age,which is when proponents claim that a "fetal heartbeat" can be detected. Medical and reproductive health experts,including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,say that the reference to a fetal heartbeat is medically inaccurate and misleading,for a conceptus is not called a fetus until eight weeks after fertilization,as well as that at four weeks after fertilization,the embryo has no heart,only a group of cells which will become a heart. Medical professionals advise that a true fetal heartbeat cannot be detected until around 17 to 20 weeks of gestation when the chambers of the heart have become sufficiently developed.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Tennessee.
Anti-LGBTQ curriculum laws are laws approved by various U.S. states that limit the discussion of sexuality and gender identity in public schools. In theory,these laws mainly apply to sex ed courses,but they can also be applied to other parts of the school curriculum as well as to extracurricular activities such as sports and organizations such as gay–straight alliances. In July 2022,a wave of anti-LGBT curriculum resurgence saw ten such laws beginning to take effect in six different states. Some states enacting these new laws appear to have mirrored similar laws from other states.
House Bill 1111,officially called An act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated,Title 1,Chapter 3,relative to the construction of statutes,is a 2017 law in the state of Tennessee that added the following text:"undefined words shall be given their natural and ordinary meaning,without forced or subtle construction that would limit or extend the meaning of the language,except when a contrary intention is clearly manifest."
Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization except to "prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman". Tennessee is one of four states which prohibit abortion in their state constitution;alongside Alabama,Louisiana,and West Virginia.
Tom Leatherwood is an American politician serving in the Tennessee House of Representatives from Tennessee's 99th house district,since 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. The 99th district includes the Northeast part of Shelby County,Tennessee,including the Town of Arlington,City of Lakeland,City of Millington,parts of North and East Bartlett,and unincorporated Northeast Shelby County.
Vincent Dixie is an American businessman,politician,and a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives,representing District 54 since 2019. Dixie is one of 32 freshman members of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly. He succeeded Brenda Gilmore after she was sworn into the Tennessee Senate.
Jerry Sexton is a retired American politician who served as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Sexton represented Tennessee House District 35,an area in East Tennessee consisting of Grainger,Claiborne,and part of Union counties from 2015 until his retirement following redistricting in 2023. Sexton would be succeeded by several representatives,including Rick Eldridge,Gary Hicks,and Dennis Powers,for Grainger,Claiborne,and Union counties respectively following the dissolution of District 35.
The Fifty-eighth Oklahoma Legislature was a meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma,composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma from January 3,2021,to January 3,2023,during the second two years of the first administration of Governor Kevin Stitt. The 2020 Oklahoma elections maintained Republican control of both the House and Senate.
Matt Simpson is an American politician currently serving in his second term in the Alabama House of Representatives for House District 96,which he was elected to in November 2018. He is a member of the Republican Party.
House Bill 5414,passed by the Connecticut General Assembly and signed into law by that U.S. state's Governor,Ned Lamont,on May 5,2022,as the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act,is intended to protect abortion in the state and expand the procedure's availability. Several of its provisions are responses to the Texas Heartbeat Act,passed in late 2021 and since emulated by two other states,that would prevent enforcement in Connecticut of judgements obtained by lawsuits filed under those laws against abortion providers,patients and those who facilitate them. It also allows more non-physician providers to perform certain types of abortions,codifying a past legal opinion. The law took effect July 1.
William Andrew Ogles IV is an American politician and businessman who has served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 5th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the mayor of Maury County,Tennessee,from 2018 to 2022.
Kentucky Amendment 2 was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kentucky Constitution,which was voted on as part of the 2022 elections. If enacted,the amendment would have declared that nothing in the Kentucky Constitution could be construed to protect a right to an abortion or public funding of an abortion.
The Tennessee Constitutional Amendment:1, commonly known as Amendment 1 or the No State Constitutional Right to Abortion and Legislative Power to Regulate Abortion Amendment,is an approved legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Constitution of Tennessee that appeared on the ballot on November 4,2014. The amendment would ensure that Constitution of Tennessee,would not support,fund,or protect the right to an abortion.
