Eyes on Tennessee as anti-trans bill set to advance

Tomorrow, a House subcommittee in Tennessee will likely vote on whether to advance HB 2414, a bill that requires students in public schools and universities to use restrooms according to their original birth certificate.

Just last week, the Republican governor of South Dakota rejected a similar bill. Governor Daugaard recognized that the bill solves no real problems but can do serious harm: it would have taken local control away from schools, and put them at risk of lawsuits, investigations and loss of federal funding by requiring them to break federal law. The Tennessee bill is even more restrictive and extreme than the defeated South Dakota bill—meaning that the risks to schools and colleges are even higher.

With the help of the NCTE team and other national organizations, local advocates in Tennessee have been fighting to stop legislators’ attempts to play politics with the lives of trans students. We’re calling on the members of the House Education Administration & Planning subcommittee to follow South Dakota’s lead and nix this attack bill on Tuesday.

We stopped this kind of anti-trans legislative assault in South Dakota—now let’s work together and defeat it in Tennessee, too. Spread the word about what’s going on in Tennessee. And if you’re in Tennessee, here are a few more things you can do to help:

• Join other LGBT people and allies to advocate against this bill at the Advancing Equality Day on the Hill event .
• If you are from Tennessee, contact members of the House Education Administration & Planning subcommittee before Tuesday afternoon to tell them to oppose HB 2414. (It is okay if you don’t live in your district, but you must live in Tennessee.) It would also be good to contact your representative even if they are not on the subcommittee, to urge them to speak out against the anti-trans bill.
• Attend the subcommittee meeting to show your support for trans students. It’ll be held at 3pm at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville (301 6^th Avenue North) in room 29.