In Tennessee: State Senate approves bill to repeal New Anti-Discrimination Law

Yesterday, the state senate approved a bill repeals Metro's new anti-discrimination law.

Senators passed the Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act after a short debate in which supporters argued that the bill was needed to keep discrimination rules the same in communities throughout Tennessee.


"When it comes to anti-discrimination practices, we need to be have consistent rules across the state," said state Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin.


Opposition mainly came from senators representing Davidson County. The Metro Council passed an ordinance earlier this year that requires businesses that contract with Metro to adopt polices that prohibit discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgendered people.


"This impacts Nashville only, and I really hate to think that those persons who come from everywhere else will take a dictator attitude to what our city council has done," said Sen. Thelma Harper, D-Nashville.

This is not set in stone yet, it has to be added as a minor amendment before Gov. Bill Haslam signs it off.

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Tennesseans Rally against the "Don't Say Gay' Bill

The 'Don't Say Gay' Bill has fired up some Tennesseans to take action. Over 70 people rallied against the bill, hoping to drum up more support to stop it.

Thursday's half-hour rally was held a few feet away from the Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of the Civic Center and across the street from Oak Ridge High School. Teachers, students, parents, clergy, and community leaders gave short speeches and held signs with slogans such as "Stand on the Side of Love" and "It's okay to say gay."

Passing motorists showed their support by honking or giving thumbs-up signals.

"Gay doesn't mean bad," said Alesha Hicks, an Oak Ridge High School senior and GSA president. She said Campfield's legislation would tell children that bullying because of sexual orientation is OK.

Those who spoke at the rally, organized by the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church and the GSA at ORHS and Karns High School, said gay students have to endure ignorance, intolerance, and regular name-calling -- and they sometimes live in fear of brutality.

There are more rallies planned. Maybe this will spread throughout my home state.

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WATCH: Sen. Stacey Campfield support his stupid 'Don't Say Gay' Bill

More foolishness from my home state

WATCH: The Drama surrounding the "Don't Say Gay" Bill In Tennessee

Rep. Stacey Campfield, the man responsible for this mess

Man, Tennessee is clowing when it comes to LGBT issues. Here MSNBC's coverage of the story

HIV hits new Highs in Tennessee

My home state is getting hit hard with HIV cases at record speed.

Thirty years after the nation’s first reported cases of AIDS, Tennessee is seeing a surge of infections among its young people. Medical successes mean the fear factor isn’t what it used to be. But people having unprotected sex are spreading mutations of the HIV virus that resist life-prolonging drugs.

“We here at the clinic are seeing an influx of college-age patients coming through our doors,” said Victoria Harris, director of education for the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Center, which specializes in HIV treatment. “That has us all very concerned.”

Between 2005 and 2009, the number of Tennesseans 15 to 24 years old newly diagnosed with HIV jumped 32 percent, state health department figures show, while other age groups as a whole declined slightly.

And here's more hard news:

In Tennessee, 645 black people were diagnosed with HIV in 2009,more than double the 300 white people newly diagnosed.

Black men on the “down low,” who keep secret about having sex with other men, and the higher incarceration rate for black men are factors for the spread of the disease among African-American women, said Alcendor and Sanders.

“There are certain things that happen in prison that men won’t talk about,” Alcendor said.
The HIV incidence rate for black women was nearly 15 times as high as that for white women and nearly four times as high as Hispanic women’s, according to a CDC report.

There are actions being taken to prevent further infections in Tennessee. Many health officials are stunned by the numbers. I have to say I'm shocked as well. The people who are getting infected are so young. There has to be better education to slow this madness down. And there has to be a stronger outreach to the communities of color. If not, things won't get better at all... I can't believe this is happening at home. I really can't.

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WTF? Tennessee Lawmakers want to Ban any discussion on Gay Issues in Schools!

This is the most f**ked up thing I've read in awhile.

These two fools want to stop any discussion on anything Gay in schools... Really?

Box Turtle Bulletin reports:

Two Tennessee lawmakers, State Sen. Stacey Campfield and Rep. Bill Dunn, have introduced a bill in the state’s legislature that would ban schools from discussing any sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.

The “Don’t Say Gay” bill presents serious problems for students whose family members may be gay, or who may be gay themselves:

“The Don’t Say Gay bill raises all kinds of issues about anti-gay bias, free speech and government overreach,” said Ben Byers with the Tennessee Equality Project. …”It limits what teachers and students are able to discuss in the classroom,” Byers said. “It means they can’t talk about gay issues or sexuality even with students who may be gay or have gay family.”

You can read this bill here