by Ginger Leonard ,
TEP
This legislative session has been a test of endurance, cunning, examination and collaboration. Had any one of those been absent, we might not have succeeded as much as we have so far. And the session isn’t over. Usually the session is gaveled out at the end of March but these are far from usual circumstances. This year, the session has been extended to the end of April and there have been some whispers that it could extend into May but we don’t know that for sure at this point.
Chris Sanders and Jenny Ford of the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) have been leading the charge in the legislative halls. They’ve been wrangling volunteers, TEP board members and working with state lawmakers to defeat what Chris has coined “The Slate of Hate.” Last year, 30 bills with either direct or indirect impact to the LGBT community were brought forward in the state legislature. The dynamic duo was able to marshal the forces and defeat 29 of those bills. The conventional wisdom, if not the hope, was that those issues were dead. Well, apparently not, since some of those defeated bills have been reintroduced albeit with altered language. As of the week of March 30, 2017, there were 26 bills on notice in 21 different locations – Senate and House Floor Calendars, Senate and House Committees and House Subcommittees. Whew.
Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) brought back the discriminatory ‘bathroom bill’ despite the evidence of financial harm that has hurt North Carolina and the threatened harm to Texas, and despite the rumored pleas of the leadership in the Tennessee House, Senate and Governor’s mansion to leave it alone. What is very telling about the popularity of her bill is that it didn’t even get a motion in committee and was gaveled out very quickly by the chair. Maybe Ms. Beavers needs to exercise her option to buy a clue and let this thing die. It should be noted that Mark Pody (R-Cannon County) had the companion bill teed up in the House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee for March 29, 2017 but that was taken off notice which means it’s dead for this legislative session. It’s anybody’s guess whether it will reappear at some point in the future, but given Pody and Beaver’s propensity for whipping a dead horse, we’ll see it again.
Pody brought HB892, the natural marriage defense act, to the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 29, 2017. There is a YUUUGE fiscal note attached to this bill and it’s anybody’s guess as to how Pody would overcome that. Pody is basically thumbing his nose at that pesky little Supreme Court ruling legalizing same sex marriages. Language in Pody’s bill says that it doesn’t matter what the SCOTUS ruled, Tennessee has its own state constitution and we have our own definition of marriage and we don’t play well with others. OK, maybe not exactly that but darn close. Good news is that this bill has been deferred to the 2018 session.
Honestly, one would think that after these two were chased out of a press conference by protesters who are opposed to Pody and Beavers’ brand of hate in the state, they would realize that perhaps they are the ones out of touch with the ideas and beliefs of the citizens.
Anyway, these are the biggies. It’s anybody’s guess as to why the same few people are regurgitating the same discriminatory bills but it’s our hope that after a few definitive defeats, this will finally stop. The success TEP has had so far is a testament to the relationships that our Executive Director and our Lobbyist have built over the years. But, they still can’t do it alone. They need your help. Go to TNEP.org and sign up to get the updates. Volunteer. Know that TEP is working all over the state to stop this madness and that your phone calls, emails and letters ARE working. Your voice makes a difference. Use it.
