Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III statement regarding today’s Supreme Court hearing in Tanco v. Haslam

“Associate Solicitor General Counsel Joe Whalen did an excellent job arguing the case. He represented well the State of Tennessee, poised and articulate as he was when he successfully argued the case before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Our hope is that the Court affirms the Sixth Circuit and will leave it to the states to decide what marriages to recognize. This has been the longstanding province of the states and our position is that it should stay that way. Let the citizens of the state vote and decide such important issues. As the Sixth Circuit said, decide by democracy rather than litigation.

We have a great system and it is in the hands of the best jurists in the country. I am confident Tennesseans will respect the Court's decision, as they always have.”