Tag: Slate of Hate

‘Anti-Trans’ Bathroom Bill Moved To Summer Study

Post author By Kailynn Johnson
Post date March 27, 2024

Proposed legislation dubbed the “anti-trans bathroom bill” has been deferred to summer study following a discussion in a Senate panel in the General Assembly.

Lawmakers opted to conduct further research and “tighten up” on SB 2781 before further voting during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting today.

The bill, introduced by Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), “makes it a criminal offense for a person to knowingly enter into and remain in a public restroom that does not correspond with the person’s biological sex.”

The amended summary of the bill reads: “Expands the offense of observation without consent to include a person who knowingly enters into and remains in a public restroom that does not correspond with the person’s biological sex.”

The bill would also expand the offense to include “a person that adopts rules or enforces a policy or other work-related guidance for employees or contractors to promote or assist in the commission of observation without consent involving a person who knowingly enters into and remains in a public restroom that does not correspond with the person’s biological sex, in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, including, but not limited to, a restroom, locker room, dressing room, or shower, designated for multi-person, single-sex use.”

During the meeting, Bowling spoke about this amendment that makes the bill which expands present laws prohibiting citizens from “knowingly spy[ing on] or view[ing]” others “in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy,” if the viewing “would offend or embarrass an ordinary person if the person knew the person was being viewed,” and “was for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of the defendant.”

Bowling said, “There’s been a lot of raging debate over the last few years around locker rooms and bathroom access for transgender individuals. This bill prohibits public institutions, which have bathrooms open to the public, from adopting rules which force employees to violate Peeping Tom laws.”

She added when establishments give people the option to use the bathroom they “want to rather than the bathroom that is there according to your biological function,” it gives them the opportunity to “violate and observe people of the opposite sex.”

Senator Paul Rose (R-Covington) said the bathrooms on the Capitol floor are single-use and sometimes lawmakers have to use other bathrooms out of necessity.

When asked how this bill would apply to situations like this, Bowling responded “that person will do their business and get out of there quickly.”

“This is for if you are there and there is a person of the opposite sex and you do gaze on them — look on them — in a way that would make them feel violated,” said Bowling.

Elizabeth Insogna, committee attorney, mentioned that as the amendment is currently drafted, a criminal offense would still apply even if the bathroom was not occupied by another person.

“As the bill is drafted right now, if you knowingly entered or remained in the restroom that didn’t correspond with the person’s biological sex, that would be an offense,” said Insogna.

Senator Kerry Robert (R-Springfield) recommended that the wording and language used in the amendment be “tightened up” as the definition of “remain” had not been clearly defined in the context of the bill.

A motion was made by Senator Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) to move the bill to summer study, as he mentioned that he had heard from the business community about “concerns” they have regarding the bill, and that he didn’t want to rush something “of this magnitude that could have an negative impact.”

Bowling said that if clarification was needed, she is “glad” for the bill to go to summer study, as it is “timely.”

“I’ve heard from many parents in schools in particular where the boys go in and there’s a girl sitting on the urinal, where the boys go into the girls bathroom, and it’s getting out of hand. We need to stop what’s happening for the sake of privacy and health,” Bowling said.

Tags bathroom bill, lawmakers, Slate of Hate, Transgender bathroom legislation

News News Blog News Feature

Community Advocates Speak Out as 18 Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills Are Heard in Legislature

Post author By Kailynn Johnson
Post date March 4, 2024

As a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is headed to the Tennessee legislature this week, community leaders and advocates are speaking out.

For the week of March 4th, 18 pieces of legislation are scheduled for hearings in the Tennessee General Assembly.

“Legislation before House and Senate committees this week targets diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, makes it easier to ban books, and attempts to legalize discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” leaders said in a statement prior to the meeting.

Molly Whitehorn, regional campaign director for the Human Rights Campaign, said the state currently leads the way on “discriminatory trends” in the country.

“It has passed more anti-LGBTQ+ laws than any other state, with more than a dozen passed since 2015,” Whitehorn said. “This week alone we are seeing discriminatory adoption bans, gender-affirming care bans, a bill to dissolve the Human Rights Commission with no wind-down period, and even a bill revising K-12 non-discrimination policies moving through the legislature.”

Opponents of the proposed legislation, including Whitehorn, held a press conference over Zoom to condemn the upcoming bills and explain the harm that previous laws have caused.

Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) called this upcoming week “alarming for our democracy,” as these bills represent a continued attack on LGBTQ+ people in the state. He also said there are more pressing issues that lawmakers should be concerned with, such as poverty and housing.

“The reality is that in this legislature, division and separation and othering of communities is what is consistently causing pain, hurt, and heartache to our most marginalized communities,” Pearson said. “It’s hard to be on the House floor and see people talking about banning pride flags, but not talk about banning assault weapons that are killing children across our state and across our country.

Molly Quinn, executive director of OUTMemphis, said it’s “astonishing” that the LGBTQ+ community has to continuously defend themselves against attacks such as the list of proposed bills to be heard this week.

“That means there is no other single subject receiving this much attention in the halls of our legislative branch this week,” Quinn said. “There are so many essential issues affecting communities in Tennessee right now, and we need our lawmakers to be focusing on what our communities truly need and not using these bullying tactics to distract from other social problems.”

Quinn said the effects of these bills “trickle down into the community,” explaining that the effects of discriminatory bills last year caused more young people to reach out to OUTMemphis than ever before, as many had faced discrimination in school settings. Quinn added they had a “three times” increase of people reaching out to their emergency services.

“It was unlike anything we had ever seen,” said Quinn.

Quinn said attacks on the transgender community reached “unprecedented political levels” last year. In the previous session, the Tennessee legislature passed legislation that made it illegal for healthcare providers to administer puberty blockers and other forms of gender-affirming care to minors.

Another attack targeting transgender people in the state involved the dismissal of a lawsuit which would have allowed individuals to change their gender markers on their birth certificate. As a result of this, TaMesha Kaye Prewitt, transgender service manager for OUTMemphis, said she went into “emergency response mode” after this decision. She said her community is “exhausted and brokenhearted” by the continuous attacks by the Tennessee legislature.

“I live and work alongside a community of courageous trans individuals, but we are fed up and see the harms of these bills,” said Kaye Prewitt. “Each time these bills become law, we see the real impact up close on families and individuals.”

The Tennessee Equality Project has dubbed these bills the “Slate of Hate,” and a full list and description can be found here.

Tags anti LGBTQ laws, anti lgbtq legislation, anti trans laws, Human Rights Campaign, Justin J. Pearson, OUTMemphis, Slate of Hate, Tennessee Legislature

Opinion The Last Word

Holding Our Own Against the State as Gender Bully

Post author By Liz Rincon
Post date June 2, 2021

Transgender Pride Flag, a symbol of transgender pride and diversity and transgender rights (Photo: Sharon McCutcheon)

Staying up late at night, worried about your children is a common occurrence for all parents. What are they watching on their phones? Who are they chatting with? Who was that my kid just drove off with? Standard parental anxiety. However, now there is a new fear that has taken over my nightly worries and has manifested into actual terror. No, I am not being dramatic, this fear is real. I am speaking about our Gov. Bill Lee and the smug way he just made it impossible for queer and trans youth to exist safely in our state.

I am a mama, a proud one. My children do not seem to want to conform to gender-assigned clothing, never have and probably never will. Because my oldest likes to wear clothes bought on the “boys” side of Target, has always been a little advocate for the LGBTQ community, and prefers they/them pronouns, I am terrified that the governor has just given permission for narrow-minded and frighteningly armed people to target and bully my beautiful and brilliant kiddo.

A slew of anti-trans legislation poured out of our state capitol building like the pink slime in Ghostbusters. Just oozing with hate, really bad science and information. The Tennessee Equality Project works so hard to fight this “slate of hate” and try to keep our youth safe. Yet, that train left the station and instead of working on pandemic relief and healthcare needs for our suffering state, the state government dug in and went full bully on our most vulnerable.

When I watched Gov. Lee sign some of the cruelest anti-trans legislation, with his giant smug smile slapped across his face, I wanted to pack up and leave. I wanted to find that progressive utopia, where my children could learn freely about American history without it being sliced into slivers of white bread. My husband and I could raise our children in peace, free from the fear of being targets. We were going to find that location, move, and let Tennessee be a distant memory. There was only one problem — that place does not truly exist in America. Sure, there are more “tolerant” cities and states, but we are not looking to be “tolerated.” We just want to live our lives, safely and free of fear.

I have seen so many posts from friends and acquaintances saying it is time to leave Tennessee. They, too, are living in a world where their fears are becoming realities. We are making national and international headlines, where people are commenting that they never plan on coming to Tennessee because we are so hateful. Well that sucks for our tourism industry, our ability to recruit new business and wealth. Who will invest in us now? Trust me, these hateful bills will come back to bite Gov. Lee, straight in his dad jeans.

After a week of thinking about a lot of things — mainly how to keep my children safe from bigots and bullies — I decided the best thing to do is stay, be brave, and protect all our children. Leaving is what those knuckle-draggers want, so they can slowly create a Tennessee where everything is homogenized and covered in mayonnaise. Well, this Latinx mama, who wants her children to live freely and safely, is not going anywhere. (Although, it is always good to have a backup plan, like a godfather in NYC.)

I want nothing but safety and protections for my child and yours. I want dignity restored, and I want these East Tennessee Republicans to get the heck out of my business because I am a Memphian and I am willing to get in the mud to make their ability to pass outrageous and bigoted laws more difficult. I will take up more space. I will be louder and more visible, and I will not allow them to make a weird white pseudostate because they feel like their “culture” is being threatened. I know it is tempting to start the process of moving to a more tolerant place, but for now let’s stay and try to right the wrongs of this last year. As a mama, a Memphian, and your neighbor, I will always be on the side of dignity for all. I hope you will stay and fight that fight with me. Donate to your local LGBTQ organizations, be your child’s first champion, not their first bully. Memphis is our home; let’s keep it safe for all.

Liz Rincon is a political consultant.

Tags Governor Bill Lee, LGBTQ, Liz Rincon, Memphis, Slate of Hate, Tennessee

News Blog

Anti-Transgender Bills “Crushing,” “Unconscionable”

Post author By Toby Sells
Post date March 18, 2021
No Comments on Anti-Transgender Bills “Crushing,” “Unconscionable”

_{Transgender 8th-grader Adam, right, and his mother, Amy Allen, talk about how anti-transgender bills in Tennessee affect their lives. (Source:} _{Human Rights Campaign)}

Anti-transgender bills continue to progress through the Tennessee House and Senate, bills some say are part of a national effort by ”opponents of LGBTQ equality across the nation.”

Three bills now moving through the committee processes in Nashville target transgender children, specifically. One would mandate student athletes to play on the team ”determined by the student’s sex at the time of the student’s birth.” Another would stop sexual identity change therapy to minors who have not yet entered puberty, something at least one physician said is not happening at all in the state currently. A last bill would, again, mandate transgender students use the bathroom determined by the sex listed on their birth certificates.

Cathryn Oakley, the state legislative director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), said during a press call Thursday that bills like this pose economic costs “from the inevitable litigation that” would follow their passage. There’s also a reputation cost for states like Tennessee that “persist — and Tennessee does persist — in innovating anti-transgender legislation.” But Oakley said such bills have a human cost.

“We also see the harm these bills perpetrate even when they’re just introduced,” she said. “Even if they’re not passed into law, the harm that folks go through watching their legislators debate the existence of trans youth is crushing.”

Even if they’re not passed into law, the harm that folks go through watching their legislators debate the existence of trans youth is crushing.
Cathryn Oakley

One Tennessee transgender youth, Adam, spoke during the HRC’s press call and said he’s a “pretty normal kid” that likes video games, music, and art. The Mt. Juliet 8^th-grader used to go to a public middle school and was offered the bathrooms in the nurses office, the guidance office, or the faculty bathroom. They were not close to his classes, he said, and using them just made him stand out more “and alienated me further.”

“So, I started not to drink anything during the day and holding it until I got home,” said Adam, who did not give his last name during the news conference. “Everyone goes to the bathroom. So, why should it be more difficult for trans kids who already have enough to worry about?”

Dr. Kristin Rager, a pediatrician in Nashville, said she cares for a number of transgender patients. She opposes the legislation that intervenes in health care and said there is “zero evidence to suggest there are dangers within our current system of care in Tennessee.”

Rager busted some transgender myths on the call. No one is performing sex reassignment surgeries on the genitals of anyone under 18, she said. Transgender kids that have not hit puberty are not being treated with hormones or hormone blockers. However, those treatments are “safe, effective, and fully reversible” in youths that have started puberty.

“These bills that are being introduced are and attempt to criminalize parents — these wonderful parents and their pediatricians — over lawmaker concerns that are, frankly, unfounded,” Rager said.

Bills like the ones in Tennessee have been filed in state houses across the country said, Hannah Willard, the vice president of government affairs for Freedom for All Americans. They amount to the “worst attack on transgender people in recent memory.”

These bills come from a “small but vocal group of organizations” pushing to chip away at LGBTQ equality, Willard said. These groups include the Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom, Eagle Forum, and more, according to the HRC.

“These bills are to spread myths and lies about who transgender people are and it’s unconscionable that transgender youth are in the crosshairs of this legislation,” Willard said.

Watch the full press call here:

Tags Human Rights Campaign, Slate of Hate, Tennessee, transgender

Memphis Gaydar News

“Transphobic” GOP Bill Aims (Again) at Transgender Athletes, Lee Approves

Post author By Toby Sells
Post date February 11, 2021

A bill from Tennessee Republicans targets transgender student athletes again this year and Governor Bill Lee’s statements for the legislation were “hurtful,” according to some lawmakers.

The bill from Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) and Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) would require “that a student’s gender for purposes of participation in a public middle school or high school interscholastic athletic activity or event be determined by the student’s sex at the time of the student’s birth.” A similar measure failed in the legislature last year.

This year’s movement may have gotten a bump from Lee on Wednesday, according to The Tennessean.

“Transgenders participating in women’s sports will destroy women’s sports,” Lee said. “It will ruin the opportunity for girls to earn scholarships. It will put a glass ceiling back over women that hasn’t been there.”

Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) called the bill “hate legislation.” She called Lee’s statements “hurtful” and “transphobic” and called the whole thing “ugliness” that could hurt the state’s economy.

“What a hurtful thing for a leader to say,” Campbell said in a Medium post. “There have been zero incidents of this being an issue. This is just hate legislation, and to double down with an insult to our LGBTQ community is unnecessary.”

What a hurtful thing for a leader to say. There have been zero incidents of this being an issue. This is just hate legislation, and to double down with an insult to our LGBTQ community is unnecessary. Let's elect leaders who care about ALL Tennesseans! https://t.co/AbfdVgbCpZ

— Heidi Campbell (@campbelltn20) February 10, 2021

‘Transphobic’ GOP Bill Aims (Again) at Transgender Athletes, Lee Approves

Tennessee Senate Democrats said the legislation “may not solve any real problems, but it has caused real harm: to state economies as business goes elsewhere, with resources wasted on court battles and to the mental health of trans people affected by this ugliness.”

For its part, the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) added the bill to the top of its 2021 Slate of Hate, bills aimed at limiting the rights of those in the LGBTQ community.

”This bill repeats the effort to prevent transgender students from participating in high school and middle school sports,” reads the TEP blog. “It ties a student’s gender to the original birth certificate. The ’whereas’ clauses attempt to pit transgender people against women’s sports.”

As an example, the bill says girls work hard to succeed in sports, sometimes to get scholarships.

“It is unfortunate for some girls that those dreams, goals, and opportunities for participation, recruitment, and scholarships can be directly and negatively affected by new school policies permitting boys who are male in every biological respect to compete in girls’ athletic competitions if they claim a female gender identity,” reads the bill.

[pdf-1]

Tags Governor Bill Lee, Memphis, Slate of Hate, Tennessee, Tennessee Equality Project, Tennessee General Assembly, transgender

Memphis Gaydar News

TEP Finalizes “Slate of Hate” Bills for 2020

Post author By Toby Sells
Post date February 13, 2020

CREDIT: Tennessee Equality Project

Tennessee Equality Project

With the filing deadlines passed for both the Tennessee House and Senate this year, the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) has unveiled the final version of its “Slate of Hate,” bills targeting the LGBTQ community.

These are the “key bills that present direct attacks on Tennessee’s LGBTQ community that could move in the 2020 state legislative session.”

From the TEP:

Attacks on transgender youth:
Tennessee General Assembly

Bowling and Ragan

SB2215/HB2576: This bill interferes with the ability of transgender youth to access gender-affirming health care and outrageously labels violations as child abuse.

Sponsored by Sen. Janice Bowling and Rep. John Ragan

Tennessee General Assembly

Pody and Griffey

Tennessee General Assembly

Hensley and Cepicky

SB2077/HB1572 and SB1736/HB1689: These bills prevent transgender youth from participating in school sports according to their gender identity.

SB2077/HB1572 sponsored by Sen. Mark Pody and Rep. Bruce Griffey

SB1736/HB1689 sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley and Rep. Scott Cepicky

Tennessee General Assembly

Hensley and Holt

SB1499/HB1274: This bill represents a new twist on the older anti-transgender student bathroom bills. It provides state legal assistance to school districts that adopt anti-transgender student policies. Filed in 2019.

Tennessee Equality Project: ‘Slate of Hate’ Bills Back at Legislature Next Year

Post author By Toby Sells
Post date December 3, 2019

State Capitol building

When Tennessee lawmakers return to Nashville in about a month, so, too, will a slate of bills against the LGBTQ+ community called the “Slate of Hate,” according to the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP).

Here’s the latest on the bills from TEP —

The bills that will be back:

Among the bills returning is the anti-transgender student bathroom bill. It passed the Tennessee House this year and heads to the Senate State & Local Government Committee. This bill outrageously gives state legal support to public school districts that experiment with anti-transgender student policies.

Another is the adoption discrimination bill that would make private adoption/foster care agencies eligible for your tax dollars even if those agencies decide to turn away loving parents because of a parent’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious views. This bill has passed the House and will be on the floor of the Senate in the new year.

The old business license to discriminate bill will also return. It would prevent local governments from favoring businesses with inclusive policies in their contracting. That bill passed the House this year and will be up for consideration in the Senate State & Local Government Committee.

A new bill:

A right-wing organization in Tennessee recently announced its intention to have another go at attacking marriage equality. It’s called the “God-Given Marriage Initiative.” It would attempt to end marriage licensing and replace it with a man and a woman registering their marriage contract with the state. Where does that leave the LGBTQ community? We need to be ready to fight back so that we don’t have to find out.

Possible legislation:

A bill attacking transgender youth healthcare has been introduced in South Carolina. Legislators in Texas, Georgia, and Kentucky are said to be looking at similar bills. We should not be surprised to see such legislation in Tennessee.

Another possible bill is an attack on the inclusion of transgender people in Tennessee’s hate crimes law. In February of this year, the Attorney General issued an opinion saying that the word “gender” in the law means transgender people are covered and that means that Tennessee has the first inclusive hate crimes law in the South. But right-wing groups complained bitterly at the time and we should expect some effort to amend the law, leaving transgender people vulnerable again.

Tags bathroom bill, LGBTQ, Slate of Hate, Tennessee General Assembly