Tribal leaders want to overturn a 17-year-old law that prohibits same-sex marriages in Navajo Nation. They have introduced legislation that would allow same-sex couples to get married in the tribal community.
The Diné Marriage Act of 2005 banned same-sex marriages within the Navajo Nation, according to KRQE.
"We've been working since 2005 onward until today to repeal that law," Alray Nelson, director of Navajo Nation Pride, said to KRQE. "And you can see, it's been over two decades now."
Same-sex marriages in Navajo Nation remain illegal because a 2015 Supreme Court ruling does not apply to the tribal community, according to KRQE. Tribal governments can "vary their interpretations according to their culture and tradition," Anne Tweedy, a law professor at the University of South Dakota, said to KRQE.
Eugene Tso, a tribal councilman, introduced a bill that would legalize same-sex marriages in Navajo Nation and grant those couples the same rights that heterosexual married couples receive, according to KRQE. But even if this legislation is passed, the traditional Navajo marriage ceremony would still only be allowed between a man and a woman.
The bill is expected to be voted on by the tribal council in July and currently remains in the public comment period, KRQE reported.