The Tennessee legislature is considering a bill that will prohibit teachers from discussing any sexuality except heterosexuality for kids in grades K-8. SB 49 is set for full Senate action on Monday, May 9.
Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) is passionate about this legislation, which he previously sponsored unsuccessfully in the state House for six years. In 2009, Campfield explained that he’s not homophobic; it’s just that the issue is “complex.” He clarified this past September that he supports promoting tolerance, but not acceptance:
You can talk about TEA and NEA resolutions talking about how they think there should be not just tolerance of the lifestyle, but acceptance of it. That flies completely in the face of a lot of people. A lot of people say, hey, I understand tolerance. I’m all for tolerance. I’ve co-sponsored the anti-bullying bill. But to say we have to go to acceptance, that’s something completely different.
He also thinks teachers don’t have enough time to teach core subjects:
If I can take one thing away and say, hey, you don’t have to teach about homosexuality to your second-graders, you can spend more time on arithmetic.
So instead of job creation, the GOP majority in TN is concentrating on micro-managing the school system. I always thought that conservatives wanted the government out of people’s lives. There are no penalties in the bill, but I’m sure that Sen. Campfield will come up with something, like wearing a scarlet H or public flogging for any teacher who even mentions the H-word.
And Campfield is a man of honor willing to debate this issue, for a price.
Film director and producer Del Shores recently challenged Campfield on Facebook to debate his bill. Campfield agreed but demanded a $1,000 retainer. According to Drew Rawlins of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, such an honorarium could be found to be an ethics violation if a formal complaint is filed. Though TEP has rejected Shores’ request for assistance in funding the retainer request, Shores seems committed to making the debate happen.
Yeah, so much for small government.