Tennessee lawmakers are pushing for a number of bills that the LGBTQ+ community deems discriminatory. This includes those that enforce that state and local governments ensure that all laws and policies referring to a person’s gender or gender are based on “anatomy and genetics” at the time of birth.
Another bill passed by the House on Monday is uncontroversial — will require private schools and churches that allow children to stay in residential facilities such as summer camps and separate toilets and changing areas based on “unchanging biological sex.”
These are one of the bills opposed by the LGBTQ+ community during legislative meetings.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will take it up Senate Bill 936 The measure declared on Tuesday that the state’s policy is that, despite the presence of multiple transgender residents at the legislative meeting, only biological men and women exist in Tennessee.
We have real problems in our country. People do not understand that when God created us, Genesis 1:27, he created the end of the man and woman’s sentence. There’s nothing like gender.
– Senator Paul Rose, R-Covington
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Paul Rose, Sen. Covington, includes a wide range of amendments that require local governments and states to modify all ordinances, resolutions, rules, policies and procedures. Complaints can be filed in Chancery Court to enforce compliance, and ultimately the state government can withhold economic and Community Development Department grants from local governments.
“We have real problems in our nation. When God created us, Genesis 1:27, he does not understand that he created men and women. “It is made up of humanity.”
Rose later added that she “is not going to recognize transgender people.” He also downplayed the importance of the amendment’s impact on the government.
Lawmakers postponed consideration of the bill until Tuesday, after the amendments were added earlier in the day, giving people little time to read it.
Chris Sanders, director of the Tennessee Equality Project, an LGBTQ+ Advocacy Group, said the bill is cleaning up more than originally, as the amendment brings city and county governments and school districts closer to the issue in a variety of ways.
“It’s a big bill now,” Sanders said. This is because local and state governments are forcing them to amend what is “conflict” with the law.
State government agencies, including the University of Tennessee, must take the same steps as local governments, and if not complied, they could lead to a reduction in the department or agency’s budget after the investigation by the Secretary’s office. These sectors and universities are also not eligible to receive grants from the Bureau of Economic Community Development.
The “bathroom building” passes through the house
House Speaker Cameron Sexton ordered the troopers to remove at least one protester from the gallery after House majority leader William Lambers used technical manipulation to cut off debate and killed amendments to the bill that required quarantined bathrooms.
The House voted in favor of 74-18 House Bill 64 Rep. Gino Bruso of Brentwood. Bruso has since declined to comment, but he told lawmakers at a subcommittee meeting earlier this year that he received complaints about transgender children who share changing facilities in summer camps.
Sanders then said he was “fed up” that discussion was not allowed on what he considers as a “consequential, disgusting, widespread bill.”
“We all know we are attacking transgender people, but we’re going to get to the private sector in ways that state bills don’t usually do,” Sanders said.
Democrats in Nashville were furious after Republicans avoided the correction.
In a statement, Ben said he introduced an amendment that “castrates the latest Big Brother bathroom bill” but was prevented from speaking.
“It’s Wild who wants to curb the ability of a ‘small government’ party to set its own policies to private institutions,” Ben said. “In regards to procedural retaliation, this is a pattern of weaponizing their supermajority status in order to punish different worldviews or block a few voices from the conversation.”
Some Republican lawmakers said they wanted to hear the discussion on the issue, but did not feel urgency enough to vote for the discussion.
House Republican Caucus Speaker Jeremy Faison said he normally supports the debate, but argued that Ben’s amendment “completely destroyed” the bill.
“No matter how we feel individually, our (GOP Caucus) members don’t want to hear it. If we’re going to do something like that, we’re not going to talk about it,” said Faison, a Republican from Cosby.
Faison added that “Congress is required to protect children,” but said trans children are not worthy of “secured class.”
Get the morning heading.