Carmen Triple Cee at Nashville Pride 2022
It’s common for the Tennessee General Assembly to spend hours and hours debating meaningless legislation designed to trigger or troll. Some of the geniuses down there threw a fit a decade ago when they thought a new sink for rinsing mops was instead a foot bath for Muslim people heading to prayer. They frequently spend time and taxpayer money arguing over whether the Bible should be the official state book or whether to honor random people like Elon Musk.
But a new front in this never-ending culture war could have more immediate effects on people’s lives than a resolution celebrating The Daily Wire.
LGBTQ community members and advocates are raising alarms about multiple pieces of legislation aimed both at trans health care and drag performances. On the drag front: A bill would criminalize public drag performances that appeal “to a prurient interest.” Despite the sponsor’s protestations, some critics argue the language is vague enough that a zealous police officer or prosecutor could interpret the law to apply to the mere existence of a trans person in public spaces. Depending on interpretation of “prurient interest,” the ban could also affect Pride parades featuring drag performers or drag buses and brunches, or someone in a Halloween costume.
Legislation is also moving forward that would ban gender-affirming care for minors in the state, a response to last year’s conservative uproar upon discovering that Vanderbilt University Medical Center has performed a handful of gender reassignment surgeries on older teenagers (though the ban would cover hormone therapy, too).
This year, the Republican supermajority plans to focus on infrastructure, punishing Metro Nashville and culture-war issues
