Leaders in the Tennessee House have still not received the message that anti-gay and anti –transgender legislation is harming Tennessee youth. The Chair of the House Subcommittee on Education and sponsor of the Don’t Say G_y bill (HB0229) in the House, Rep. Joey Hensley, rescheduled his bill for a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012.

Over the past year, some Tennessee lawmakers have used the youth of Tennessee as pawns to advance an anti-gay and anti-transgender political agenda. The legislature has stripped away workplace protections for LGBT employees (HB600/SB632) in Tennessee and advanced bills that will make our students unsafe in school (License to Bully and Don’t Say G_y bills).

The message to LGBT people in Tennessee is loud and clear. While it's hard to make direct connections, the suicides of two Tennessee students victimized by anti-gay bullying in their schools happened in the hostile climate created by the Tennessee General Assembly's passage of the anti-LGBT legislation. Children hear what adults are saying about them. It’s time for the bullying to stop at the highest level of government in Tennessee.

Send a message to the Chair and members of the subcommittee today. Tell them that Tennessee’s youth cannot bear to hear more hatred from the adults who are responsible for protecting them and ensuring an opportunity for them to thrive in school. We don’t need bullies in state government or in the classroom.