Bills targeting LGBTQ Tennesseans have encountered obstacles in the statehouse this week, after similar measures sped through the General Assembly earlier in the session.
The first proposal would’ve expanded on Tennessee’s first-of-its-kind law restricting drag by making performers acquire a permit. The measure failed without discussion this week.
Stella Yarbrough, the ACLU of Tennessee’s legal director, says the language in this bill builds on the drag ban’s broadened definition of adult cabaret.
“Their intent is to essentially erase drag from being performed in Tennessee. That’s the intent.”
Yarbrough says drag is not illegal in Tennessee, because drag is a form of artistic expression covered by the First Amendment.
The other bill on the docket this week would’ve blocked transgender adults from using the state’s Medicaid program to cover hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries. That bill stalled in the House, and a spokesperson for Senate Speaker Randy McNally says he “has no plans to run the bill in the Senate.”
McNally survived a no-confidence vote earlier this week, after House Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, called for his resignation over the Republican’s social media use. McNally drew national attention for his comments on a young gay man’s provocative photos, while Tennessee leads the nation in anti-LGBTQ legislation.
But the 79-year-old lawmaker says he is not “anti-gay,” citing his opposition to a bill that would’ve curtailed adoption for gay couples.
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