TN State GOP Rep. Stacey Campfield Defends His "Don't Say Gay" Bill

UNRELATED: Once again we thank JMG reader Dave Evans, our devoted video clipper who scours the networks for LGBT-related news items. You folks would never see many of these segments were it not for Dave's hard work at funneling them to us here.

TN House Votes To Overturn Nashville's Gay-Friendly Business Ordinance

Earlier this month Nashville's city council approved a law banning the city from doing business with companies that discriminate against their LGBT employees. Yesterday the GOP-dominated state House voted to overturn that law.

The measure sponsored by Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada of Franklin was approved 73-24 on Monday. The companion bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate State and Local Government Committee. The proposal would void a Nashville ordinance barring companies that discriminate against gays and lesbians from doing business with the city. Under state law it is illegal to discriminate against a person because of race, creed, color, religion, sex, age or national origin. The Nashville ordinance prohibits companies that discriminate because of sexual orientation or gender identity from receiving city contracts. It does not apply to local governments' hiring policies for their own workers.

(Tipped by JMG reader Tim)

It's OK To Be Takei

(Via - Buzzfeed)

MSNBC On "Don't Say Gay" Bill

Once again, MSNBC's midday team gives the proper attention and reaction to an issue involving LGBT youth.

TENNESSEE: "Don't Say Gay" Education Bill Passes State Senate Committee

Tennessee's state Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a bill banning the mention of homosexuality in public schools prior to the ninth grade. Such a bill could derail any potential lessons on anti-gay bullying. The law is the pet project of state Sen. Stacey Campfield (left), who has introduced it six years in a row.

As introduced, the bill would have put into law a declaration that it is illegal to discuss any sexual behavior other than heterosexuality prior to the ninth grade. But when it came before the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, contended current law already prohibits such instruction by deeming it a misdemeanor to teach any sex education that is not part of the "family life curriculum" adopted by the state Board of Education. Tracy proposed an amendment to rewrite Campfield's bill to require the Board of Education to study the issue and determine whether any teaching about homosexuality is occurring and, if so, recommend what should be done about it. Campfield contends homosexuality is being discussed in classrooms. Spokesmen for the Board of Education and the state Department of Education told the committee they are unaware of any such activity. The Tracy amendment passed over Campfield's objections.

Einstein Was A Creationist

PhoboQuotable - Richard Land

"So a six-foot guy who shaves every day can come in wearing a dress, high heels, and earrings and tell his employer that he's really a woman and he wants to use the women's bathroom facilities, and there's nothing the employer can do to stop him if he wants to do business in Metro. Clearly the Metro Council members, a majority of them succumbed to the intense lobbying of a minority that wants special rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people." - Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's "ethics commission," responding to Nashville's decision not to do business with companies that discriminate against their LGBT employees.

RELATED: In 2008 Land named the "homosexual agenda" as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

TENNESSEE: Anti-Gay Housing Official Reprimanded And Censured

Last month I called attention to Vicki Barnes, the Tennessee housing official who wrote a letter to HUD denouncing their proposed federal plan to end housing discrimination against LGBT people. In the letter, Barnes compared gay people to murderers and drug dealers. Yesterday local NBC television reported that Barnes has been reprimanded and censured for her letter, but still has her job. All future correspondence out of Barnes' office must now be reviewed by her superiors. Not a complete win for us, but probably the best we could hope for.

(Tipped by JMG reader Chris)