Tennessee
lawmaker misses deposition in marriage lawsuit

A Tennessee state senator failed to appear at a deposition for a lawsuit over a proposal he cosponsored that would enact a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Sen. Jeff Miller, a Republican from Cleveland, Tenn., was scheduled to appear for questioning by the American Civil Liberties Union. The group has filed suit to try to stop the state from putting before voters a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. The ACLU filed a motion asking a judge to order Miller, who is a lawyer, to appear. The ACLU told the court it wasn't given a reason why Miller wouldn't appear for the deposition, which was scheduled on the date his attorneys requested. "We were very disappointed that Senator Miller chose not to attend his deposition," said Hedy Weinberg, ACLU state executive director. The Tennessee legislature approved a measure to put the proposed amendment, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, on the November 2006 ballot. The ACLU, the Tennessee Equality Project, three state legislators, and several individuals filed the lawsuit in Davidson County chancery court earlier this year, challenging the way lawmakers took up the resolution. Miller is among 90 lawmakers who sought to intervene to help defend the proposed amendment. They are being represented by the nonprofit Alliance Defense Fund, which didn't immediately return calls seeking comment Thursday. "I don't know his reasoning, but I do know that, as a lawyer, he knows that he would be subject to sanctions, and I'm sure he measured that when he decided not to appear," said state senator Jim Kyle, the Democrat's senate leader and a Memphis attorney. Another cosponsor of the measure, Republican state representative Bill Dunn of Knoxville, appeared for his deposition this week. (AP)