Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, has filed the first couple bills ahead of the next legislative session — and both are taking aim at the LGBTQ community.
Senate Bill 1 would ban gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee, and Senate Bill 3 would create a new felony offense targeting adult cabaret performers.
The bill would bar those individuals from performing on public property or in front of minors. It defines performers as topless dancers, strippers, and male or female impersonators, such as drag shows.
“I’ll always stand up for TN kids and ensure our communities are safe for TN families,” Johnson tweeted.
The legislation comes after a concerted campaign by conservative Nashville-based media host Matt Walsh, who has staged protests and pressured lawmakers to ban transgender care for minors. Walsh also claimed credit for helping push the issue of banning drag performances.
Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus says these types of Republican bills pit Tennesseans against each other.
“It appears to us that they are going to, at least our state legislature prepared to pick right back up where they left off on this tirade of trying to have a culture war on almost any issue that they can divide us on,” said Remus.
Remus says he and members of the General Assembly will meet to prepare to fight against these bills and others like them as they come up.
The 2023 session for the Tennessee General Assembly begins Jan. 10, 2023.
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