Tennessee Senate: ‘Don’t Say Gay’ in School
The Tennessee Senate has passed legislation that would keep teachers from educating their students about homosexuality, with language in the bill asserting that "some subjects are best explained and discussed at home."
The Tennessee Senate has passed legislation that would keep teachers from educating their students about homosexuality, with language in the bill asserting that “some subjects are best explained and discussed at home.” GOP state Sen. Stacey Campfield, the bill’s sponsor, argued that elementary and middle schoolers shouldn’t learn about gay people because same-sex couples cannot “naturally reproduce.” Some ideas are simultaneously preposterous and malevolent, and this is one of them. In the absence of information, a hateful environment is more likely to grow. The Tennessee House has yet to vote on a version of the bill, so perhaps there is still hope for the youth of that state. — KDG
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...New York Daily News:
The bill, which was approved 19-11, passed the same day as Gallup released a poll revealing that American attitudes towards homosexuality are changing.
For the first time in Gallup polling history, the majority of Americans—53% believe same-sex marriage should be legal.
Passage of the bill would make Tennessee the first state to enact such legislation.
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Before I came out, I thought it was normal to “debate” our right to marry or hold a job. Now I know it’s not—at all.
Churning out cheap rainbow swag during Pride Month is about marketing, not supporting LGBTQ+ people.
The law had been in place since 1861, when the country was still a colony of the British empire.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.