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Who is Tom Leatherwood? Tennessee State Rep. wants to make CHILD MARRIAGE legal

Rep introduces bill to scrap age limits for marriage in Tennessee, saying he wants to create 'alternative forms of marriage' in a now-viral move

For days now, Republicans have been claiming Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson enables pedophilia through her soft sentences for those accused of child pornography, rape, and other crimes. On April 5, 2022, those accusations came back to bite the party thanks to the efforts of Tennessee State Rep. Tom Leatherwood. The Republican made waves after introducing a bill that would legalize child marriage in the state, much to the internet's fury. 

Leatherwood isn't the only Republican to turn heads with his controversial bill. In January 2020, another Tennesee lawmaker, Rep. Bruce Griffey, shocked people after introducing a bill to require those charged with child sex offenses to be chemically castrated. For over a month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has become a target for Democrats over his 'Don't Say Gay' bill. In late March, Tennesee also joined the attack on LGBTQ rights, with HB 800 banning all teaching material that includes pro-LGBTQ content. 

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While Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia have become key battleground states around LGBTQ and race-based debates, Tennessee really takes the cake when it comes to bizarre legislation. The internet could not believe Leatherwood's bill was actually introduced, leading to swift condemnation of him, and the GOP.

Who is Tom Leatherwood?

Leatherwood currently represents Tennesee's 99th district, after successfully running for the lower house in 2018. A native of Memphis, he has a B.Sc in Geology, leading to a career in the oil industry. Several years later, he decided to backpack across 25 countries, which led him to pursue a career in teaching. After eight years as a public school teacher, Leatherwood set his sights on politics, first serving in the State Senate from 1992 to 2000. 

Leatherwood then spent close to two decades as the Shelby County Register of Deeds, before returning to the state capitol as a Representative. That only came after two failed attempts at running for the US Congress, once in 2008, and another time in 2016. The staunch Republican has supported a ban on state income tax, and in 2019 became the only Republican in the education subcommittee to oppose the state's Educational Savings Accounts bill. 

He may not be one of the most controversial lawmakers in the GOP, but he certainly caused quite an uproar with House Bill 233, which the state House will debate on April 6, 2022.

Bill dubbed 'get out of jail free card'

HB 233 basically attempts to establish common-law marriages in the state between “one man and one woman.” It also eliminates statutes on licensing, which Leatherwood says is to "give an alternative form of marriage for those pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to the current pathway to marriage in our law." However, it has sparked controversy for two key reasons.

Firstly, the bill specifically defines marriage as between a man and woman, thereby putting LGBTQ marriages at risk despite the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling legalizing it. Secondly, and most worryingly, the bill does not have an age limit on marriage. "There is not an explicit age limit," the lawmaker told WHJL. That oversight has caused much fury and uproar, with one Democrat lawmaker dubbing the bill "a get-out-of-jail-free card for people who are basically committing statutory rape." 

The condemnation continued online. "Still can't get over how on the SAME WEEK that Republicans are desperately trying to label everyone else pedophiles and groomers, the Tennessee GOP is advancing a bill *literally* legalizing child marriage. Truly beyond parody," tweeted Brian Tyler Cohen. One user slammed, "If Josh Hawley has any true concerns about "child porn," why doesn't he call out Tennessee's new marriage law? He, like most of the other Elected Republican freaks, are flat out conspiracy-driven, bigoted thugs." A third trolled, "So the same people blaming Democrats for "pedophile rings" are basically legalizing pedophile rings in Tennessee and TX by way of legalizing child marriage. You can always tell what these people are guilty of."

Under Tennessee law, a person as young as 17 can get legally married, making the state the 13th largest nationally for child marriages. In fact, until 2018, children younger than 17 could also be married as long as a judge waived the age limit through parental consent. Leatherwood's bill does not make any mention of parental consent, and reportedly limits what judges and other state officials can do to intervene, effectively killing off the 2018 change.