This from Raw Story doesn't put me in any state of shock. It's stupid and totally uncalled for, but say pour it on. When those who oppose your basic freedoms are empowered to show their true faces, let them. Let them show the entire world just how hateful they are.
But just don't let them get away with it:
As Florida's dangerous and possibly unconstitutional "Don't Say Gay" bill gathers nationwide attention and condemnation – making it more likely to be passed and signed into law by Republican governor and rumored 2024 presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, another Republican is dusting off his own "Don't Say Gay" bill to push his "Christian values" agenda.Tennessee state Rep. Bruce Griffey says if schools are forcing him to teach Christian values at home because they won't teach them in the classroom, they should not be allowed to "promote" what his legislation calls "LGBT issues or lifestyles."“The state of Tennessee is not allowed to teach my daughters Christian values that I think are important and they should learn, so I teach those at home,” Rep. Griffey told Tennessee's WMC, as The Advocate reports. “So if those are not part of the school curriculum, I don’t see how LGBTQ and other issues and social lifestyles should be part of the curriculum.”
According to The Advocate:
Tennessee lawmakers have tried several times to pass such a bill and have failed. Bills to this effect came up in 2011 and 2013 but didn’t pass, and Griffey’s bill was put on hold last year because of the pandemic. But now he’s out working on it, and it’s part of a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation the state is considering, including one bill that would restrict gender-affirming care for minors and one that would allow teachers and other school staffers to disregard students’ preferred pronouns. The state saw five anti-LGBTQ+ bills become law last year, including a ban on transgender student athletes competing under their gender identity, and this year looks to be even worse,Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, tells The Advocate. “The 2022 legislative session has brought the most discriminatory bills ever,” he says in a email. “Attacks on gender-affirming care, trans athletes, and LGBTQ materials in schools are themes that connect this year’s bills to previous sessions. We also face new attacks on student pronouns with a bill allowing school personnel to disregard them, which is nothing short of state-sanctioned bullying. Given the number of bills that passed last year, we have to treat them all as if they could advance. So we have steps that advocates can take each week of the session. An easy way to find them is on Twitter.”
