Tennessee Legislator Intends To Introduce Legislation Aimed At Preventing Cities State-Wide From Adopting Anti-Gay Bias Bill

In Tennessee, a Williamson County state legislator said Wednesday that he will introduce legislation meant to prevent Metro government and other cities in the state from extending protections to gay, lesbian, and transgender employee of city contractors, the Tennessean reports. Representative Glen Casada (Republican-College Grove) says the bill, which he hopes to file next week, will keep local governments across the state from the adoption of “a patchwork” of policies toward businesses. “It’ll say that local governments don’t have the option of requiring the business community to perform certain social functions,” said Casada. “We’re putting so many requirements on businesses that we’re making them to be the social police of the community. That’s not their role.” Casada and small coalition of conservatives met privately Wednesday to plot strategy against a bill that the Metro Nashville Council will begin considering next week, the bill requiring city contractors to sign an affidavit saying they will not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, an extension of pledge already in place regarding age, race, sex, color, national origin, and disability. The bill was introduced after Lisa Howe left Belmont University – which has a contract with the city – under circumstances suggesting she was forced to resign after inadvertently outing herself when she revealed her same sex partner was pregnant. Councilman Mike Jameson, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in an e-mail to the paper, “The proposed legislation doesn’t require private companies to adopt new polices. It won’t interfere with private individuals’ unfettered right to discriminate or even to hate. But in those limited instances where a company wants to enter into a contract with the city and to make money from the city, the legislation simply asks that they comply with policies the city adopted a year and half ago.” Opponents of the bill argue that it is simply the first step towards requiring every business in Nashville and Davidson County to adopt a similar non-discrimination policy, regardless of its contact with Metro. Area businessman William Morgan sent an invitation to local business leaders last week to attend Wednesday’s strategy session, called the possibility of a countywide mandate “the next item on the homosexual agenda.” And Councilman Jamie Hollin, another co-sponsor of the bill, said the business issue is a “head fake” to distract from conservative’s real agenda of opposing rights for gays and lesbians.