Tennessee lawmakers weigh a dozen new Republican anti-LGBTQ+ bills

"The schedule is pretty ominous, and a lot of it hits this week. It's really all over the board this week. Committees in the Tennessee General Assembly are set to hear at least 13 measures touching nearly every corner of LGBTQ+ life, from employment protections and health care access to marriage recognition, library books, and Pride celebrations."

"If you take away the few employment protections we have or catch them up in court challenges that make things murky, you have really cut a lifeline for LGBTQ people. The bill would bar Tennessee courts and agencies from interpreting sex discrimination protections to cover sexual orientation or gender identity, directly targeting the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County."

Tennessee's General Assembly is hearing more than a dozen bills affecting LGBTQ+ people, with hearings concentrated in a single week at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville. The Tennessee Equality Project characterizes this legislative push as a crisis, as the measures span employment protections, healthcare access, marriage recognition, library content, and Pride events. A particularly significant proposal, dubbed the "Banning Bostock" bill, would prevent Tennessee courts from interpreting sex discrimination protections to cover sexual orientation or gender identity, directly undermining the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County that extended federal workplace protections to LGBTQ+ employees. Advocates warn this is especially damaging because Tennessee lacks a statewide nondiscrimination law to provide alternative protections, potentially eliminating critical employment safeguards for queer and transgender residents.

Read at Advocate.com