Local equality groups will speak out against anti-LGBT bills

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Tennessee Equality Project Montgomery County Committee, PFLAG (Parents, friends and families of lesbians and gays) Clarksville, and other equality advocates will discuss the “slate of hate,” a group of six anti-LGBT bills filed in the Tennessee General Assembly this year.

The groups will gather outside the Montgomery County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 21 at 4 p.m.

The bills include the following:

SB30/HB33. The LGBT Erasure Bill. By requiring that the words “father,” “mother,” “husband,” and “wife” be given their natural and ordinary meaning, this bill interferes with the identities and families of LGBT people.

SB127/HB54. The Business License to Discriminate Bill. This subtly worded piece of legislation actually opens the door to allowing businesses and nonprofits to discriminate in their HR and benefit policies while using taxpayer dollars.

SB752/HB892. The Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act states the policy of Tennessee to defend marriage as only between one man and one woman regardless of what the courts say.

SB771/HB888. The Anti-Transgender Student Bathroom Bill. This bill requires students to use restrooms according to the sex designation on their birth certificates and not according to their gender identity.

SB1085/HB1111. The Sneaky LGBT Erasure Bill. This bill does everything that SB30/HB33 does while trying to hide the effects upon the LGBT community from the public.

SB1153/HB1406. The Attack on Parenthood Bill. This bill repeals statute that deems a child born to a married woman as a result of artificial insemination, with consent of the married woman’s husband, to be the legitimate child of the husband and wife. This bill is directed at lesbian couples and could affect other couples.