The hateful bill, which as we all know would require students in public schools to use the bathroom corresponding with the sex listed on their birth certificate, was reintroduced to the Tennessee senate by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt.-Juliet after a similar version from 2016 was halted.
Critics of the bill said it would impact the state negatively, pointing to the many businesses and conferences that boycotted North Carolina after their state legislature passed a similar measure last year.
The committee room was filled with members of the American Civil Liberties Union and LGBT Chamber of Commerce who held up signs in silent opposition to the bill.
When the bill was reintroduced, it was met with silence and dismissed by the committee.
Supporters “let out happy gasps of surprise.”
“It seems like we are making progress on teaching these legislators on what being transgender in Tennessee is like,” said Henry Seaton, the LGBT organizer for the ACLU of Tennessee said. “I was very shocked, but very proud that they did not hear it.”
Not everybody saw it as a victory:
Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon said he was disappointed by the Senate committee’s action, saying they did not have the backbone to protect Tennessee’s children.
“I’m disappointed in our state for not taking action on this bill,” he said. He plans on discussing how to move forward with the House version of the bill with Beavers soon, but conceded it would be an uphill battle.
“I want to move forward with whatever we can to protect our children.”
President of the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) David Fowler echoed Pody’s disappointment, saying in a statement that the committee insulted the values of thousands of Tennesseans.
“Today, nine members of the Tennessee Senate Education Committee, seven of whom voted for this same bill last year, decided that legislation on this topic did not even merit a motion or a second,” his statement said.
Yuck.
So: good news today, but keep in mind, about a dozen states throughout the country have introduced so-called “bathroom bills” this year.
(via The Tennesseean)
