“Don’t Say Gay” Bill Again Delayed; Sponsor Of Bill Says He Needs At Least Three Weeks To Work Out Odious Bill’s Language

The Republican sponsor of a proposal to ban the teaching of gay issues to elementary and middle school students says he’s not backing off the legislation despite concerns from GOP leaders. The proposal is scheduled to be heard in the House Education Committee on Tuesday. But Representative Joey Hensley of Hohenwald told The Associated Press he plans to delay the measure for up to three weeks to work out its language. The legislation, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, would limit all sexually related instruction to “natural human reproduction science” in kindergarten through eighth grade. House Speaker Beth Harwell has called for further review of the bill and Governor Bill Haslam would prefer for it to be dropped. Hensley, however, said he’s moving forward with the proposal this session. The legislation, originally authored by Republican state senator Stacey Campfield, limits all sexually related instruction to "natural human reproduction science" in kindergarten through eighth grade, when students are 13 to 14 years old. The original version of the bill would have prohibited public elementary and middle schools from providing "any instruction or material that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.” An amended version would limit instruction to "natural human reproduction science,” but has left those terms undefined. Opponents are concerned about the implications across the United States as well as in Tennessee, where two teenagers, Jacob Rogers and Phillip Parker, have recently killed themselves after being bullied over their sexuality. Local businesses have been quietly lobbying against the legislation, fearing it may have a harmful effect on recruitment. FedEx and Dell are among the largest employers in Tennessee and both have strict non-discrimination policies. A spokeswoman for Vanderbilt University, Nashville's largest employer, said: "This pending legislation would not affect any of Vanderbilt's existing policies regarding faculty, staff and students. But it could impact the climate for attracting the best talent to Vanderbilt and Tennessee." Chris Sanders, chairman of the Nashville committee of the Tennessee Equality Project, said the legislation as it strands could limit teachers or counsellors from discussing bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender students. It also opens up schools to possible legal action if they discuss sexuality with students whose parents may not know or approve of their children's sexual orientation. "On top of that, this legislation sends a very clear message from the top that there is something wrong with being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender," said Sanders, adding that the bill was transparently drawn up as an attack on gay people, and was not addressing any issue in the school system. "I can assure you that there are no elementary or middle school children in Tennessee that are getting a 'how-to' in gay sex," he said.