by Ever been to Tennessee, the Volunteer State? Tap your toes in Nashville, the heart of country music? Hike through the majestic Smoky Mountains? Traipse through Elvis’ Graceland mansion in Memphis? Or visit Ruby Falls and Rock City in Chattanooga?
Lots of wonderful people are from Tennessee: historical figures like Davy Crockett and Sequoia; singers such as Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and Isaac Kaye; celebrities like Dinah Shore, Cybil Shepherd and Morgan Freeman. Some of my ancestors are from there, too.
Alas, some of the biggest homophobes in the world also live there. And it seems that many of them have been elected to the Tennessee legislature, which last year passed a law that prohibits local governments from approving anti-bias laws. That law was designed to overturn Nashville's ordinance that outlawed discrimination against gays and lesbians by companies doing business in Music City.
If that isn't bad enough, the Tennessee legislature is now trying to push through several bills that would negatively affect the LGBT community.
The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill would prevent teachers from talking about gay issues or discussing anything involving the LGBT community. If the bill passes, students in Tennessee schools would not learn anything about gay people. Wonder what they will call us?
A watered-down anti-bullying bill would create a religious exemption that would allow bullies to continue to harass, pick on, demean and abuse other students if their faith disapproves of LGBT people. Tennessee lawmakers seem to think that God has chosen sides on the issue and only loves straight people.
Rep. Richard Floyd, R-Chattanooga, has gotten into hot water for his comments attempting to justify why he introduced a bill to bar transgender people from using public restrooms and public dressing rooms if their birth certificate doesn’t match their gender identification. In other words, a transgender woman who was born a man cannot use a women’s restroom and a transgender man who was born a woman cannot use a men’s restroom.
Read the FULL Commentary HERE.
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