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Religion

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MineralMan

(148,463 posts)
Fri Mar 22, 2019, 08:20 AM Mar 2019

Despite Actions of a Handful of Religious Leaders - TN Set to Pass LGBTQ Discrimination Bills [View all]

https://www.freedomforallamericans.org/tennessee-lawmakers-pursue-sweeping-slate-of-anti-lgbtq-legislation/

Tennessee Lawmakers Pursue Sweeping Slate of Anti-LGBTQ Legislation

March 4, 2019 • 9:47 am
NASHVILLE — Tennessee could become the first state in the nation to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation this year, including the next generation of North Carolina’s highly controversial HB2 which opened the door to harassment of transgender people in public places. Tennessee lawmakers are hastily pursuing a slew of anti-LGBTQ bills in hearings taking place this week, including legislation that could lead to harassment of transgender people in public places, undermine the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, and allow businesses and adoption agencies a broad license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, among others. This legislation is at high risk of moving quickly: three of these bills will be heard in committee starting tomorrow.

“These six bills attack our marriages, ability to form families, exist in public spaces, and they even undermine our ability to advocate with our own city governments for protection against discrimination,” said Chris Sanders, executive director of Tennessee Equality Project. “All of them strike at the dignity of LGBTQ people in Tennessee. Adopting any of them would do lasting damage. Religious leaders in our state have spoken out against these bills and called us to work for basic fairness. That’s a project all Tennesseans can get behind.”

“A small group of Tennessee lawmakers appear bound and determined to advance an anti-LGBTQ agenda that is out of step with Tennessee values,” said Kasey Suffredini, President of Strategy for Freedom for All Americans. “These bills target the marriages, families, and basic welfare of Tennesseans’ neighbors, family members, and friends who happen to be LGBTQ. We’ve seen time and again that discrimination comes at a high cost, and Tennessee can’t afford the economic consequences. We urge Tennessee lawmakers to reject state-sponsored discrimination and stop these attacks on LGBTQ people and their families.”

The anti-LGBTQ bills may be a preview of a new wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation. Two of the six Tennessee bills (HB 1152 and HB 836) create a license to discriminate for taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care services to refuse to place children with qualified, loving families, if the family doesn’t share all of the agency’s religious beliefs. Similar laws are already on the books in ten states – five of which just passed in the last two years. Several additional states are considering similar bills this year. HB 1151 would seek to accomplish a similar goal of anti-transgender legislation in years past by putting transgender people at risk of being arrested – with up to a year of jail time – simply for using a restroom or locker room consistent with who they are.


More at the link, including descriptions of the current bills under consideration...

Once again, Tennessee appears ready to enact discriminatory legislation to remove or limit LGBTQ rights. Despite the efforts of some religious and secular groups, the bills are advancing in the legislature.

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