In Tennessee’s Gay Marriage Case, Lead Plaintiffs ‘Maintain The Faith’ About The Outcome

  Tennessee’s gay marriage case is one step closer to being argued in the U.S. Supreme Court. Lawyers for same-sex couples in four states, including Tennessee, handed in their written briefs last week.

The justices’ decision, expected in late spring, could change Val Tanco’s life. But she admits she’s also excited about something else:

“Knowing that my last name will be spoken by them, I’m a little bit starstruck.”

Tanco and her partner, 
Sophy Jesty, are the lead plaintiffs in 
Tanco v. Haslam — one of the four gay marriage cases before the court. 

The couple married in New York three and a half years ago, just before moving to Tennessee, where their marriage is not recognized. In 2013, a lawyer friend told them about a lawsuit arguing to recognize gay marriages performed out of state. They decided to participate.

In the year and a half since then, their lives have been redefined by this case.

“For example, we go out for dinner and two couples will come up to us and thank us,” Tanco says. “I think that’s when it becomes obvious to us that we might be affecting many, many lives.”

It has already affected their own lives.

In March 2014, a U.S. district court judge ordered what’s called a preliminary injunction, effectively forcing the state of Tennessee to recognize their marriage while the case was pending. That only lasted about a month because in April, a higher court overturned the order. 

Coincidentally, the month they were technically married in Tennessee was the same month Tanco gave birth to a baby girl, Emilia. She became the only child in the state with two moms on the birth certificate. 

Even though Tanco and Jesty are somewhat removed from the legal process, they say the case is always in the back of their minds.

“It’s going to be weird after [the court rules],” Tanco says, laughing.

“It’s become such a pervasive, important thread for the last 16 months,” Jesty says, adding that a loss will be a visceral blow.

Tanco
 doesn’t even want to think about it.

“I’m going to be honest, it’s a long process,” she says. “If you start thinking negatively, it’s just going to erode on you. So you either don’t think about it or maintain the faith.”

If the couple loses, Tancy says she would consider moving to another state that would recognize her marriage. She now has 37 states to choose from.

What’s Next

• By the end of March, the four states involved will file written briefs defending their current gay marriage bans.
• The case will be argued in front of the Supreme Court justices in late April.
• The court’s opinion will likely be announced in May or June.
• For more information on the nuances of the four gay marriage cases in front of the Supreme Court, see SCOTUSblog’s analysis
  here.