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LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: Tennessee gay rights advocates

tnequalityproject.org

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  As the Tennessee General Assembly gets its new legislative session underway this week, WMOT News explores the legislative priorities of the state's most influential political leaders, organizations and institutions.

Chris Sanders is Executive Director of the LGBTQ advocacy group, the Tennessee Equality Project. Sanders says the gay community is expecting conservative state legislators to launch new attacks on same sex marriage and transgender bathroom issues. He notes that a new counseling bill he considers anti-gay has already been filed in the senate.

“We’ve been under attack at the state level for many years. At the federal level we’ve had eight years of progress. Now, we’ll just have to see what the world looks like under the new Trump Administration.”

Sanders says the state’s LGBT community is heartened that some 300 Tennessee businesses have come out opposing any new anti-gay legislation, but wonders just how much impact that support will have.

“We’re not clear on how that’s going to move rural and suburban legislators who are not voting based on business interests, but are voting based on what they perceive as the values of their constituents and their own moral commitment. So it will be interesting to see how that balancing act takes place in this session.”

Sanders says the gay community is feeling tense as the New Year begins and expects to be playing a lot of defense this session in the Tennessee General Assembly.

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