State
Sen.
Bill
Stephens,
sponsor
of
a
proposed
amendment
to
Georgia's
constitution
that
would
ban
gay
marriage,
is
in
no
position
to
defend
the
"sanctity
of
marriage,"
his
former
wife
told
Southern
Voice
this
week.
The
woman,
who
asked
that
her
name
not
be
published,
said
she
and
Stephens
were
married
for
15
years
and
had
two
sons
before
the
couple
split
in
1991,
in
part
because
she
heard
persistent
allegations
that
he
was
having
an
extramarital
affair.
In
an
interview
on
Jan.
30,
Stephens
acknowledged
the
divorce
from
his
first
wife
but
denied
there
were
any
allegations
regarding
extramarital
affairs.
"Unfortunate
things
happen,"
said
Stephens,
a
Republican
from
Canton,
Ga.,
and
the
Senate's
majority
leader.
Stephens
announced
the
gay
marriage
amendment
Jan.
21,
the
day
after
President
Bush
vowed
to
defend
"traditional
marriage"
in
his
State
of
the
Union
address,
but
Stephens
was
dropped
to
fourth
on
the
list
of
sponsors
when
it
was
officially
introduced
in
the
state
Senate
on
Jan.
26.
The
proposed
amendment
declares
that
Georgia
"shall
recognize
as
marriage
only
the
union
of
man
and
woman.
Marriage
between
persons
of
the
same
sex
are
prohibited
in
this
state."
Many
Democratic
legislators
opposed
to
the
amendment
dismissed
the
proposal
as
a
political
ploy
to
turn
out
large
numbers
of
conservative
voters
in
the
November
general
election,
in
which
all
236
seats
in
the
Georgia
General
Assembly
will
be
up
for
election.
But
Stephens'
support
for
the
amendment
also
drew
criticism
from
political
opponents.
"If
I'm
Bill
Stephens,
I
don't
believe
I
would
talk
about
the
'sanctity
of
marriage'
or
anything
to
do
with
anyone's
personal
life,"
said
Bobby
Khan,
interim
chair
of
the
Democratic
Party
of
Georgia.
When
she
heard
Stephens'
comments
about
defending
the
"sanctity
of
marriage,"
his
ex-wife
scoffed.
"It's
a
bunch
of
baloney,"
she
said.
"The
only
thing
Bill
Stephens
will
do
is
try
to
get
himself
reelected."
The
only
reason
behind
the
divorce
that
Stephens'
ex-wife
was
willing
to
discuss
was
the
"persistent
rumor"
of
an
extramarital
affair
involving
Stephens,
who
was
then
working
as
press
secretary
for
then-Gov.
Zell
Miller
(D-Ga.).
Stephens
announced
his
resignation
on
May
9,
1991.
His
divorce
took
place
on
Aug.
20,
1991,
according
to
records
from
the
Georgia
Bureau
of
Vital
Statistics.
Miller,
who
is
completing
his
tenure
as
a
U.S.
senator
from
Georgia,
indicated
earlier
this
week
that
it
was
Stephens'
decision
to
resign
as
press
secretary.
Asked
by
Southern
Voice
only
to
confirm
Stephens'
dates
of
employment,
Miller
instructed
his
staff
to
issue
a
statement
that
went
much
further,
saying,
"Bill
Stephens
was
not
fired
and
if
you
insist
on
saying
he
was,
it
is
untrue.
"He
left
the
governor's
office
on
his
own
free
will,"
Miller
said
in
the
statement.
"I
have
known
Bill
Stephens
and
his
family
for
most
of
his
life
and
have
always
had
a
very
high
regard
for
his
ability
and
character."
Stephens
worked
as
Miller's
press
secretary
during
his
tenure
as
lieutenant
governor,
during
his
gubernatorial
candidacy
and
during
the
first
five
months
of
Miller's
first
term
as
governor.
Miller's
office
did
not
respond
to
repeated
interview
requests
to
discuss
further
Stephens'
employment
by
the
former
governor.
In
late
1994,
Stephens
said,
he
met
the
woman
who
would
become
his
second
wife,
Shannon
Walshe
Stephens,
a
reporter
for
WSB-TV.
When
the
couple
decided
to
marry,
Stephens
said,
his
previous
marriage
presented
religious
difficulties
for
Walshe,
who
is
Catholic.
Stephens
said
he
obtained
an
annulment
"out
of
respect
for
the
love
of
my
life,"
by
honoring
her
religion
and
presenting
himself
to
her
with
a
clean
slate.
Stephens
and
his
first
wife
were
legally
divorced
in
1991,
and
the
Catholic
Church
granted
a
religious
annulment
in
1996,
clearing
the
way
for
him
to
remarry,
Stephens
said.
Stephens'
proposed
amendment
is
not
the
first
time
a
prominent
Georgia
politician
has
attacked
gay
relationships
despite
his
own
marital
difficulties.
While
a
member
of
Congress,
Republican
Bob
Barr
was
the
primary
sponsor
of
the
1996
Defense
of
Marriage
Act,
a
federal
law
banning
gay
marriage,
despite
having
been
married
three
times.
As
Georgia
attorney
general
from
1981
to
1997,
Michael
Bowers
defended
the
state's
sodomy
law
to
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court,
winning
a
1986
ruling
that
found
no
"fundamental
right"
to
homosexual
sex.
Bowers
also
won
a
protracted
legal
battle
after
firing
lesbian
attorney
Robin
Shahar
in
1991
after
learning
of
her
planned
religious
commitment
ceremony
with
her
female
partner.
But
in
1997,
Bowers
—
then
a
candidate
for
governor
in
the
Republican
primary
—
acknowledged
a
long-term
extramarital
affair,
in
violation
of
Georgia
laws
...
