'A concern for everyone': Tennessee poised to ban Pride flags in schools

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sun 3 Mar 2024 07.00 EST


Tennessee is poised to become the first state to in effect ban Pride flags in public and charter school classrooms, prompting outrage from the LGBTQ+ community. The Tennessee house advanced a bill, HB 1605, that forbids schools, teachers or faculty from displaying flags other than the US flag and the Tennessee state flag in public schools.

The bill would also allow “a parent of a child who attends, or who is eligible to attend” a Tennessee public or charter school to sue their school district if a Pride flag is displayed “anywhere students may see the object”. The bill does not mention LGBTQ+ Pride flags or Black Lives Matter outright, but some Republican lawmakers have made it clear that the bill is meant to restrict them. The bill is expected to clear the senate as early as next week.

Members voted for the bill after a verbal showdown between the state representative Justin Jones, a Democrat, and the Republican house speaker, Cameron Sexton. Jones was blocked from speaking on the house floor after likening the anti-LGBTQ work of the Tennessee legislature to a neo-Nazi rally held in Nashville earlier this month.

When Sexton moved to end the debate and proceed to a chamber-wide vote, Jones blasted the speaker for silencing criticism of the proposed ban on Pride flags. Despite opposition, house Republicans comfortably passed the bill with a final vote of 70 to 24, splitting predictably along party lines.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/03/tennessee-ban-pride-flag-schools

[Turbineguy]

1. Trump flags and Confederate flags are not allowed either.

I presume.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. And the stupid black, white, and blue "cop" flags, ...

... and no "POW-MIA" flags either.

Wait, no Confederate Flags? What will we wave when the school marching band plays "Dixie" at football games?

[Prairie Gates]

5. POW/MIA Flag is required at most federal sites where a US flag is flown

Accoridng to the National POW/MIA Flag Act, a law co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

There's no doubt that the POW/MIA Flag was a political flag devised by pro-war forces, but it has been "de-politicized" by custom and policy and, indeed, law.

[underpants]

2. These legislatures are competing to one-up each other like MAGAs trying to get on TV

Texas does something and Tennessee has to respond and get headlines then Florida Man comes crashing in….repeat

[LiberalLovinLug]

4. "FREEDOM!"

Democrats should run on the same slogans the GOP traditionally runs on.

Democrats stand for freedom. Of choice, of thought, of all faiths/nonfaith, of books, of marriage, of reproductive rights.......

[raging moderate]

6. And WE should be the ones shouting "USA! USA! USA! USA!"

We are the ones who actually BELIEVE in that slogan, and support its meaning with our actions!

[Chi67]

7. First amendment violation

This is the very definition of a first amendment violation. Off to court it goes. This will be struck down in a minute.

[GregariousGroundhog]

9. I tend to agree

Teachers and faculty do not have an absolute first amendment right while on the job, but any restrictions on them need to be narrowly tailored to advance a legitimate government interest.

This would prevent many kinds of activities during the Olympics and during foreign language studies that teachers have been assigning for decades. It would also prevent schools from flying flags of their mascot. Is that collateral damage worth a legitimate government interest? I suspect Tennessee will strugle to articulate a state interest and that this is narrowly tailored.

[CTyankee]

8. DO THEY NOT HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO???