Another attempt to exempt “Christians” or anyone who wants to discriminate against the gays from laws requiring equal treat of everyone. It says that if you don’t like the gays or the trans, you can just not do your job, regardless of the fact that is what your job is. Think about how horrible these laws are, think of what they are trying to accomplish. They send the message that Christians are the most privileged highest level of person in society, automatically. It also sends the messaged that the LGBTQIA, especially the gays and trans, are the lowest of the low in society. The goal, to drive the society / public back to the 1950s, erasing all the equality and advancements in tolerance / acceptance. The goal is removing the gays / trans from public view and this is done by denying them equal treatment under the law. If you think these laws sound OK try rewording them. It is OK not to serve or do your job is you believe it is wrong for black people to be married, or mixed races marriage. You can refuse to do your job and not take pictures of a wedding because it has a Jewish person and a Catholic. You can refuse to cater a weeding if the people getting married were once married before and now are divorced. If you think the examples are wrong then it is wrong to do this to gay or trans people. If you think the examples are correct then you are saying everyone gets to know and judge everyone else and screw the people you dislike or hate. This is simply hate made in to law driven by religion. Laws in a secular country are by definition not religious edicts, they are civil. If you want religion to rule you need to move to a theocracy. Notice a theocracy is not a democracy. Hugs. Scottie
The Tennessean reports:
Hours after a bill allowing marriage officiants to decline to solemnize weddings if they have moral objections received final passage from lawmakers, a vibrant crowd rallied on Capitol Hill advocating against a slate of bills aimed at placing new restrictions on Tennessee’s LGBTQ community.
Senate Bill 596, which would allow officiants to decline to perform weddings, passed the Tennessee Senate without debate along party lines on Monday evening. The bill passed the House last year, and will head to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.
Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, who sponsored the bill, told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee this month that the goal of his bill is to provide clarity on whether officiants are required to perform marriages.
Truthout reports:
The bill wouldn’t just apply to wedding officiants and religious leaders — it also amends Tennessee Code Section 36-3-301, which applies to public government officials, including county clerks who handle marriage licenses. The legislation would allow those individuals, too, to refuse to “solemnize” a marriage based on their own religious convictions.
It’s unclear whether Republican Gov. Bill Lee will sign the bill into law. Lee has signed a slew of anti-LGBTQ bills since becoming governor, including one allowing state-funded foster care agencies to legally deny LGBTQ people the ability to serve as foster parents. Since 2015, more than a dozen anti-LGBTQ bills have become law in Tennessee.
Pody has appeared here many times for his attacks on same-sex marriage. In 2016, he sought to “nullify” the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling.
In 2017, he sponsored a bill calling for Tennessee to defy Obergefell entirely, and literally fled protesters at his press conference.
In 2019, he filed the “Tennessee Natural Marriage Bill” that would void same-sex marriages, something he says God told him to do.
In 2020, he filed a fourth attempt to make the bible the official book of Tennessee. In 2021, he filed a bill that would allow fathers to block abortions by their partners.
Then can’t all business owners then refuse service to anyone with different beliefs than themselves?
The bill wouldn’t just apply to wedding officiants and religious leaders — it also amends Tennessee Code Section 36-3-301, which applies to public government officials, including county clerks who handle marriage licenses.
Cool, I hope these do refuse to handle homo marriage licenses, they can get sued to high hell and the gays will get a nice little payout.
Sounds good to me, keep it up religious bigots, its taxpayer money you’re handing right to the gays.
Yeah. Drag them to federal court. Fuck Tennessee.
Its the only way to win against them.
How do you intend to collect this nice little payout?
There’s only one way to get a Republican to honor the Constitution. A lawsuit ain’t it.
Oh, we’ve already got Kim Davis, this will just go the same way.
These states, repeatedly, pass unConstitutional laws and they lose in court. I guess its time for TN to give it a try.
They’ll lose at every court this is tried in, the fed law is clear on this. Its why this jackasses other legislation has failed.
Beer guy and the Handmaid say hold my beer.
Another good Christian, shitty human
In his circles, there’s little difference.
Scottie's Playtime 
…and I live in this shit hole of a state.
These are not my people!
And I swear I can’t remember ever seeing a guy with evil eyebrows like that Tn. Rep Prody. I’m sorry but anyone that looks like that guy I could never take seriously, and there he is, an asshole for Tn. You couldn’t do a better job drawing the picture of an angry loon than his photo.
I know, I know, don’t judge a book by its cover, but I think in this case we can.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Shelldigger. If you were to poll the actual people and talk to them, I would bet a lot of them wouldn’t be as bigoted as the republican leadership is. It seems a lot of southern states legislators / republic party got infiltrated / stuffed with fundamentalist Christian fascists. Their entire goal it seems to return to the past socially and run the country by their church doctrines like prissy old maids. As for the eyebrows if you go to the site and look at the comments they had a wonderful bunch of the pictures and cartoons about characters with huge bushy up angled eyebrows. I did not include them with the post but you can look them up. They were funny. Hugs. Scottie
LikeLike
We are terribly Gerrymandered. I often see in elections that the general elections run around 55%-45% R to D. I keep thinking with a bit of work we might be able to turn that around.
But the reality is, we don’t have enough electoral votes to make it worth the effort by the big spenders with deep pockets…
So, asshole R’s rule the day here. Probably will till this thing goes all to hell.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Shelldigger. Don’t lose hope. Look at what happened in Wisconsin. One state Supreme Court voted in by the people switched the court that was blocking changing the gerrymandering to the left, and the governor just singed a law doing away with it. It will change everything in the state. The republicans had a great run there, they ruled as a small minority over the large majority. But the republicans realized they couldn’t maintain it, that if they tried dirty trick to do it they would lose even worse. Hugs. Scottie
https://www.joemygod.com/2024/02/wi-gov-signs-law-ending-republican-gerrymandering/
LikeLike
I heard about that last night. Damn inspiring.
LikeLiked by 1 person