CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Clarksville Indivisible teamed up with the Tennessee Equality Project on Friday for a show of solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community of Clarksville. Around 30 people gathered at the pedestrian bridge across Riverside Drive at McGregor Park waving signs and flags.

“We organized a rally basically to protest the anti-trans, anti-drag, anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation that’s coming out. That’s why we called it Stop the Hate – the hateful legislation,” said Joy Rice, lead organizer for Clarksville Indivisible.

Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Indivisible held a rally to support the LGBTQIA+ community to push back against lawmakers and what the organization believes are discriminatory measures on Mar.31, 2023. (Lee Erwin)

Rice added that they just wanted to come together and demonstrate that and make a space where their voice can be heard.

“The message is that these are real people that are being affected by this legislation. This legislation has real consequences. There are actual human lives that are being affected by the laws that Tennessee lawmakers put in place,” Rice said.

Earlier this month, Tennessee became the first state to pass a law explicitly targeting drag shows. It also joined a list of states that have enacted bans on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, according to Clarksville Now news partner WKRN-Channel 2 in Nashville.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the law restricting drag shows, just one day before it was to go into effect. U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker granted a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the law for two weeks, finding that it was “likely both vague and overly-broad.”