If You Don't Say It, It Doesn't Exist

My home state of Tennessee has 2 very important bills ahead of us this week, both directly impacting the LGBT community. The first, SB049 or the "Don't Say Gay Bill", I have written about before and has made national news in the past few weeks. As a gay an that grew up in in the Memphis City Schools system, I know exactly how this could effect students. While Tennessee in general is a much more LGBT friendly state than one might think, it still isn't California. If it hadn't been for some of the amazing friends and teachers I had going through school, I would have eventually succeeded in my adolescent attempts to end my life. While the climate towards the LGBT community has changed drastically even in just the 7 years since I graduated high school, there is still much work to be done. If SB049 passes, the repercussions are likely to be felt for years and years to come.

The second is HB600, the Special Access to Discriminate Bill. This bill came about after Nashville passed an ordinance "which bars the Nashville government from doing business with any entity that does not prohibit discrimination in employment against LGBT workers. Mayor Karl Dean signed it into law three days later. (The Bilerico Project)" Not only would this bill nullify the Nashville ordinance, it would prevent any other municipality from passing similar legislation.

Tennessee is a "Right to Work" state, meaning that an employer has no obligation to give a reason for firing an employee. While it is well established that a person can't be fired for race, gender, or disability without serious legal and financial repercussions, but sexual orientation and gender identity protections are still lacking in most states, let alone at the federal level. If we want to attract larger Fortune 500 companies to Tennessee, we need to implement protections similar to the ones that their companies are already practicing.

As of late this afternoon, there have been addendums to the the bill to to allow for the defund Planned Parenthood in Tennessee as well as a severability clause, only adding to the fact that they know that even if this bill passes at the state level, legislators know that it will never last after challenges to its constitutionality.