First, a wee bit of not quite racy fiction:
The after Lodge fellowship was drawing to a close, so Jim sent a text to his long time girlfriend Carol letting her know that he would soon be home. They had moved in together about a year ago and had to adjust to living with each other. Carol worried for Jim’s safety while he was away, so he had learned to put her mind at ease by occasionally texting her.
She replied almost immediately, Jim checked his phone and read “Hurry home big guy, your girl wants to play, but she is all alone.”
A second text arrived right after the first. “You’ll find me in the bedroom, wearing something new for you.”
Jim needed no further motivation. He rushed through the streets of Nashville, and on arriving home made his way to the bedroom where he found his girlfriend who eagerly took him into her arms.
Later that night, as Carol snuggled into the crook of his arm, they talked about marriage. They agreed that they wanted to get married someday, but that it was best if they held off until they were financially stable enough to have children. With such thoughts in their minds, Jim and Carol slowly drifted off to sleep.
A dumb little fictional story, but one that reflects the experiences of quite literally millions of people in the United States, and certainly plenty of Freemasons and the women they live with in the State of Tennessee.
The thing is however, this is apparently a violation of Masonic Law within the Jurisdiction of Tennessee, punishable by expulsion from the Fraternity.
From Chris Hodapp:
The Grand Lodge of Tennessee's code, Sec. 4.2105 (27), specifically states that it is a Masonic offense to "To engage in lewd conduct. To promote or engage in homosexual activity. To cohabit immorally in a situation without the benefit of marriage." That Tennessee rule has been in place for more than 35 years, and has been upheld and reaffirmed by the voting members of Grand Lodge several times, in spite of attempts to amend or remove it.1
Clearly, the hero of our little story, Jim, is subject to expulsion for living with his girlfriend outside of marriage.
This is only important because according to both Masonic and profane news sites Tennessee expelled a Mason in March under the above code provision.
He was apparently expelled for ‘promoting homosexual activity.’ Specifically, he made a post on Facebook, offering his services as a minister to gay couples seeking to be married.
I personally disagree, in the strongest way possible, with Tennessee’s code provision. I don’t think it reflects the reality of the world we live in, but more importantly, I think it clearly violates the principles and teachings of Freemasonry.
Beyond that however, as it has been applied, it is unjust.
No law is, or can be, just unless it is applied fairly, evenly, and equally to all. This law clearly is not. It’s been used to expel gay men in the past and now a man seeking to provide religious services to those whom the Grand Lodge of Tennessee disapproves of.
Yet I’ve never heard any reports of this law being used to expel Masons who live with a girlfriend from our Fraternity. Surely had it been used in such a way, we would have all learned about it.
Even if the law were a proper Masonic regulation it fails, is unjust, unmasonic, and immoral because it is unequally applied by the Jurisdiction that holds it.
Tennessee Masons need to repeal it, and those of us outside of Tennessee have a right to push them to do just that, because press accounts about it harm the reputation of Freemasons everywhere.
The Grand Lodge of Washington published an opinion about this years ago:
A Message from Our Grand Master, Most Worshipful Donald G Munks:
One of the many lessons we learn in Freemasonry is that it is the internal, not the external qualifications that should recommend a man to be made a Mason. As to additional qualifications, those are clearly defined in the Washington Masonic Code, Section 18.02 ~
Every petitioner in order to be eligible for the degrees of Masonry must:
A. Be at least eighteen years of age,
B. Have the senses of a man, especially those of Hearing, Seeing and Feeling,
C. Be a believer in a Supreme Being,
D. Be capable of Reading and Writing; and
E. Possess no disability in his body that would render him incapable of conforming reasonably what the Degrees respectively require of him.
The recent actions by the Grand Lodge of Georgia and the Grand Lodge of Tennessee to exclude men due to sexual orientation and premarital cohabitation have cast an unwanted pall upon our beloved Craft, and are contrary to the wisdom of those who long ago forbade the interference of religion and politics from the administration of our Fraternity. It is well to remember that “a Freemason’s Lodge is the temple of peace, harmony, and brotherly love; nothing is allowed to enter which has the remotest tendency to disturb the quietude of its pursuits.” The actions of these Grand Lodges have disrupted that quietude.
While I as your Grand Master acknowledge the Masonic sovereignty of Georgia and Tennessee to govern their own Jurisdictions, I disagree wholeheartedly with their actions as they are divisive in nature and codify an intolerance that is contrary to our Masonic principles. The Jurisdiction of Washington believes that Freemasonry is indeed the true import of the three great social treasures – Fraternity, Liberty, and Equality. Furthermore, the Jurisdiction of Washington welcomes & values the talents & capabilities of all men who meet our qualifications for membership. The design of Freemasonry is to UNITE men of every sect, country, and opinion; and to conciliate true friendship among those who would otherwise remain perpetually at a distance.
We are stronger for that diversity.
We do well to stand by that statement today.
http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2022/05/grand-lodge-of-tennessee-expels.html#
OK, so we know what Tennessee stands for. What does the Grand Lodge of Washington stand for if it continues to recognize the Grand Lodge of Tennessee? Unless the Tennessee Masons (and I use the term "Masons" loosely in this case) get a clear and unequivocal message of disapproval they have every right to believe that what they're doing is OK
I think VW John Gebhart makes a valid point. Why do we continue to recognize jurisdictions that insist in maintaining code provisions based on narrow sectarian and/or political beliefs that are unequally applied and inconsistent with the values of our society at large? What are the arguments for continued recognition and amity? For myself, I’m personally disinclined from visiting Lodges in those jurisdictions (Tennessee, Georgia) even if we are currently officially in amity.