I have officially lived in Tennessee for over ten years, so it's safe to say I am a citizen. And the longer I have lived here, the more I have become aware that the body of individuals who make laws for Tennessee are, for the most part, embarrassing. Granted, there are some that actually do some good, but usually, the news from the Capitol is about how absolutely ridiculous these people think and the actions they take to put their twisted views into law.
For example, very recently, some Tennessee lawmakers got their panties in a twist because they thought a mop sink at the state capitol building was a foot-washing sink for Muslims.
http://www.tennessean.com/viewart/20130325/NEWS02/303250057/TN-lawmakers-confuse-mop-sink-Muslim-foot-washing-sink
I truly wish I was making this up. Their fear of a religion that has existed peacefully in Tennessee for over a hundred years is all of the sudden trying to put their evil plumbing just yards from where they make laws specifically aimed at keeping that religion from practicing in Tennessee. Oh the humanity!
But that is just one instance of the joke that is the GOP-dominated Tennessee General Assembly. The TGA makes up the 33-member state senate and 99-member house of representatives. I, for one, am a bit tired of these people making this great state look like were all a bunch of right wing nut job homophobes with a Jesus complex.
One of the biggest examples is the infamous Don't Say Gay Bill. It was first introduced in 2011 and stalled in the House. But it's back and could have some terrible repercussions on Tennessee children. The irony is that it's called the Classroom Protection Act and it essentially prohibits the discussion of any sexuality besides heterosexuality in public school classrooms. But bill sponsor, Senator Stacey Campfield, has added another little tidbit to the bill's reintroduction earlier this year. The new and unimproved legislation would now require teachers to out their students to their parents. The sheer amount of bigotry and unconstitutionality of this so-called would-be "law" is a disgrace. And the fact that there are people out there -- and lawmakers no less -- that would be so willing to trample on a child's humanity and identity is deplorable. It's also another veiled attempt at people in power pushing their religious views on Americans. Let's be honest. This is simply about forcing conservative Christian beliefs on the children of Tennessee.
Another example of the veiled Neocon agenda is the more recent introduction of a piece of legislation that wouldn't allow the police forces of certain private state universities (like Vanderbilt) to make arrests if they didn't amend their non-discrimination campus policies. In real terms: they wanted to give groups (and religious ones in particular) on these campuses the ability to discriminate against homosexuals. Fortunately, our Republican governor (give credit where credit is due) did veto a similar bill last year and he has noted that this new piece of legislation doesn't exactly thrill him.
And while I give Governor Bill Haslam credit for stopping some of this nonsense, I am more angered by the fact that my tax payer money was wasted on a single piece of copy paper for these bills. If we want to focus on real issues in this state, let's start with education because it seems like a lack of education is what is causing these brainless laws to be introduced in the first place. Every time I flip on my local news, I hear about money problems in schools and a recent report from Education Week's Quality Counts gave Tennessee public schools a C+ grade and a national ranking of 22. I am not paying a 7% sales tax (and higher in the Nashville area) for Tennessee children to get a C+ rating and for TN lawmakers to introduce legislation that teaches creationism in public classrooms. Again, a veiled Christian agenda snaking its way into public school. No pun intended.
Let's also keep in mind this is the same group of legislatures that banned Sharia Law and passed an abstinence-only sex education program that prohibits almost any discussion of sexual activity. The sex ed bill was also known as the "gateway body parts" legislation because it states educators can mention kissing or hand-holding, but can't talk about the touching of "gateway" body parts like genitals. Ummmm.... so explain to me how this is sex education?
The Tennessee General Assembly has also passed a law that would make causing a miscarriage murder and let's not forget that life-altering bill that makes saggy pants a crime. And these are just the laws they PASSED. The amount of ridiculous bills introduced, but didn't pass includes a bill discriminating against transgender Tennesseans. And let's not forget a GOP rep who sent an email to constituents saying that President Obama was planning to fake an assassination attempt in order to fix the 2012 election.
I really have trouble trying to picture the reality these people live in because it's not even close to the real world. Tennessee doesn't need a bunch of Bible thumpers imposing extreme agendas. Other countries in the world ruled by religious law should be a clear indication that theocracies don't work and never will. Perhaps they should pay attention to their counterparts in wacky over in Texas who decided to cut Planned Parenthood. But because of rising health care costs, they are quietly restoring federal family planning funding. So much for pushing that quasi-religious agenda, Texas. Tennessee, are you paying attention?
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