Law banning display of pride flags passed in Tennessee

 

A bill that would ban the display of Pride flags and ideological flags in Tennessee public schools, but does not explicitly prohibit the display of Nazi or Confederate flags in schools, passed the full state House on Monday.

House members passed House Bill 1605 on a party-line vote of 70 to 24, with one member present, not voting.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, would ban the display of any flag that “represents a political point of view, including, but not limited to, a partisan, racial, sexual orientation, gender or another ideological point of view.”

A companion bill could be up for a final vote in the Senate on Thursday, after passing the Education Senate by a 5-4 vote last week.

“Do parents have the right to instill in their own children values ​​with which they agree?” Bulso asked during the House debate on Monday. “If there are parents across the state who want to instill in their children the values ​​represented by the pride flag, they certainly have the right to do so. On the other hand, if there are parents who want to instill values ​​in their children that are not consistent with the values ​​represented by the pride flag, they have the ability to do so.” /Tennesean