A bill viewed by transgender students as discriminatory died in committee in the Tennessee House of Representatives on March 23. The bill would have required transgender students to use bathroom’s that match their sex at birth.
Instead, the bill died in a House Education Administration and Planning Committee meeting that was packed with transgender youth who opposed the measure.
Transgender students who testified before the committee were elated and said they felt like sharing their personal stories had impacted the vote.
Religious conservatives had pushed the legislation, which was sponsored by Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) and Mike Bell (R-Riceville).
But there was concern that the proposal might create more confusion. Local schools already have their own policies on use of bathrooms for transgender students.
After hearing the testimony, committee chairman Mark White (R-Memphis) said of the proposal, “Maybe we’re making things a little worse than they already are.”
He also said the bill would surely die later because of the potential costs. A revised fiscal note on the bill said the federal government could withhold education money if the bill passed. The fiscal note said Tennessee had received $1 billion in federal education funds last year.
Gov. Bill Haslam had objected to the bill because he was concerned that Tennessee could lose federal funding if it passed.
The same day that the Tennessee bill died in committee, a more sweeping one passed during a special session in North Carolina. Proposed and passed in less than 24 hours, the new law will prohibit and overturn local ordinances that provide equal protection to LGBT persons.
The special session cost taxpayers there $42,000.
The new legislation not only prohibits equal protection for LGBT individuals but also explicitly singles out the transgender community, containing a provision requiring they use public restrooms and locker rooms according to their biological gender.
A coalition of civil rights groups vowed on Monday to sue North Carolina’s governor to strike down that state’s law.
In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal announced Monday he will veto another bill widely viewed as discriminatory to the LGBT community. Georgia’s HB 757 would have allowed faith-based organizations to deny services and jobs to LGBT people.
Georgia was facing intense pressure from major corporations that opposed to the law and threatened to take their business elsewhere.
At least one Georgia legislator, however, has called for a special session to override Deal’s veto.
