Tennessee made a name for itself last week in the LGBT world—and not in a good way, as far as the community is concerned.
Responding to a Nashville ordinance banning LGBT discrimination in Nashville, the Tennessee legislature has passed a measure that bans all cities and counties from enacting non-discrimination ordinances, according to Advocate.com . The bill prohibits localities from adopting all anti-discrimination laws, including those based on race, religion, sex and age.
On May 23, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam signed the measure, known as SB 632/HB 600. "Limiting the rights and protections cities and counties can provide their own citizens is fundamentally unjust," said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Joe Solmonese in a statement. "We call on Governor Haslam to veto SB 632/HB 600 and preserve the right of cities and counties to protect their residents from discrimination."
Several major Tennessee-based corporations—such as Alcoa, FedEx and AT&T—have joined HRC in opposing the bill.
However, AT&T is also on the outs with at least one organization, as Garden State Equality has voted to withdraw its honors of three national corporations—AT&T, KPMG and Pfizer—that serve on the board of directors of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which lobbied for the bill.
The Legacy Project—the nation's only organization committed to creating memorials to honor LGBT historic figures, beginning with the dedication of "The Legacy Walk" in Chicago—also issued a press statement criticizing the measure.
"The recent passage of SB 632 by the Tennessee State Senate, banning any academic discussion of gay people in their schools, is a reckless act that sends a chill down the spine of every reasonable, free-thinking, fair-minded American," the statement reads, in part. "And those who are tax-paying parents of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT) children are doubly outraged."
"The sense of isolation this imposes on our children is immeasurable, and SB 632 makes a difficult situation worse by closing off the only possible avenue for GLBT kids—for all children—to learn about the many ways GLBT people have helped to shape the world we share."
In addition, the Tennessee Senate has approved, by a 20-10 vote, a measure that bans public school teachers and students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade from discuss homosexuality—although talking about heterosexuality is fine, according to AllGov.com . State Sen. Stacey Campfield sponsored SB 49, known to some as the "don't say gay" bill.
Opponents contend that the bill is unfair to same-sex households and may lead to more bullying.
