By Logan Langlois
NASHVILLE, TN — District 61 Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) proposed legislation that has dominated Tennessean headlines for its call to “not display any flag other than the United States flag and the official Tennessee state flag on or in a public school,” as written in House Bill 1605. Though the bill’s language mentions banning all flags, many LGBTQ+ advocates voiced their concerns regarding the bill’s origin. Concerns regarding the bill’s origins stemmed largely from a recent interview Bulso gave to WKRN where he said, “The whole idea is that a school is a place where a child goes to learn, not a place where a child goes to be indoctrinated.”
Bulso went on to say that he disagrees with the pride and trans flags along with the 2015 Supreme Court Obergefell v Hodges decision which ruled the 14th Amendment requires states to recognize same-sex marriage. Bulso said, “Transgender ideology is probably the most dangerous one that comes under that pride flag.”
Many ally groups such as the Tennessee Equality Project have been outspoken against the bill, including recent Williamson County Schools graduate and Equality advocate Eli Givens. Givens said the legislation feels like government overreach to the teachers they have spoken to on their rights to express their social and political beliefs to their students. Givens said such legislation feels especially hypocritical from supporting entities such as Moms for Liberty in Tennessee, who on their website list themselves as opposed to government overreach.
“School is a place to seek solace and learn about people who are different from you, and sponsors of this bill, and Moms for Liberty, are ultimately taking away that freedom and that solace for students and teachers,” Givens said.
Givens said the queer youth they work with while volunteering with organizations such as Wilco Iris are terrified to find out about the legislation. Givens said many of the families of queer youth were told to simply move away from Tennessee or at least Williamson County, something they said isn’t easy. Givens said that Bulso has been tough to get a hold of to talk about the bill’s effect on citizens, despite Bulo’s readiness to give interviews.
“When I did my official News Channel 5 on the same bill, he told me that he was on holiday,” Givens said. “And then did an interview one or two days later.”
This was the same interview referenced previously, and where Bulso later said, “50 years ago we had a consensus on what marriage is … One hundred years ago, we had a consensus on sexual morality; I don’t think we have that anymore.”
Givens said it is quotes such as this make clear that the representatives drafting and supporting bills such as this are thinking. They said that the flag ban would directly affect the relationships teachers can establish with their students.
Givens said state censorship prevents teachers from saying or speaking as to how their classroom is a safe space for everyone, meaning students who need it may not feel able to fully be themselves. Givens said many LGBTQ+ students are already desperate for a safe place to be themselves, as their homes may not be it.
“I leaned on a lot of the adults in my school and I’m still close with a lot of those adults,” Givens said. “And I cannot imagine where I would be without that adult support, and the fact they’re trying to take that away from other students is horrifying.”
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